Military Authorities Reveal Details Behind Attack on U.S. Mess Tent inIraq

[steve2470]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBWFPOMKCE.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - A member of the Iraqi insurgent group Ansar al-Sunnah was wearing an Iraqi security forces uniform when he snuck into a mess tent at a U.S. base near Mosul and blew himself up last December, leaving at least 22 people dead, a U.S. general said Friday.

Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, who commands U.S. troops in northern Iraq, told reporters that the bomber was not a worker at the base, as some had suspected, and he doesn't appear to have gotten inside the base by entering through a gate.

The bomber's nationality is unknown, Rodriguez said, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via video teleconference. It is also not known whether he was a member of the Iraqi security forces or was wearing a stolen or counterfeit uniform.

"It's a large perimeter (on the base), and we think that he was somehow able to infiltrate through the perimeter, not going through an official gate," Rodriguez said, citing a completed U.S.military investigation into the attack.

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1. U.S. Reveals Iraq Mess Tent Attack Details

U.S. Reveals Iraq Mess Tent Attack Details

Friday August 19, 2005 9:01 PM

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - A member of the Iraqi insurgent group Ansar al-Sunnah was wearing an Iraqi security forces uniform when he sneaked into a mess tent at a U.S. base near Mosul last December and blew himself up, leaving 22 people dead, a U.S. general said Friday.

Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, who commands U.S. troops in northern Iraq, told reporters that the bomber was not a worker at the base, as some had suspected, and didn't appear to have gotten inside the base by entering through a gate.

The bomber's nationality is unknown, Rodriguez said, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via video teleconference. It is also not known whether he was a member of the Iraqi security forces or was wearing a stolen or counterfeit uniform.

``It's a large perimeter (on the base), and we think that he was somehow able to infiltrate through the perimeter, not going through an official gate,'' Rodriguez said, citing a U.S. military investigation into the attack. The results of the investigation had not previously been made public.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5221424,00.html