Four Bulgarian Soldiers Dead, Many Wounded in Iraq - bombs

[private_ryan]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Four Bulgarian soldiers were killed and many other people were wounded in several bomb attacks on a military base and government buildings in southern Iraq (news - web sites), Polish defense officials said on Saturday.

"We know that in Kerbala...there were multiple attacks, (positions of) two coalition forces were attacked, also the university, city hall and the police station," a spokesman for Polish-led troops in the region said.

"Among coalition forces we have about 20 casualties but we don't know the nationalities, or how many dead or wounded," he told Reuters. "We know nothing about civilian casualties."

Earlier, a defense ministry spokesman in Warsaw said that four Bulgarian soldiers had been killed in a mortar attack on their base in Kerbala.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=1&u=/nm/20031227/ts_nm/iraq_kerbala_attack_dc

[psychopomp]

1. Isn't that the SDF's area of likely deployment?

If so, I hope that somebody in the Diet has the nerve to point this out.

[ps1074]

2. OMG - the first casualties in our battalion

I was wondering when this will happen. We have 350 or so soldiers in Iraq. We have a draft army but the soldiers in Iraq are all volunteers or should I say mercenaries as the US army is paying their wages.

These deaths are the first combat deaths since we had a battalion in Cambodia in 1992. Back then we lost 20 soldiers for the whole peace keeping mission.

This may bring the government down. Most of the Bulgarians were against the war and the approval ratings of the government are in the low 20s.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Keep us abreast

this would bring the coalition of the coerced to 29

And my prayers go to their families

[Robbien]

4. I am so sorry

One of your soldiers would be too much to lose, and in one day you lost so many. Peace.