Suicide attack kills 3 US soldiers, 3 Iraqi children

November 19, 2007|Kim Gamel, Associated Press

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber detonated his explosives as American soldiers were handing out toys to children northeast of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least three children and three of the troops, US and Iraqi authorities said.

Seven children were wounded in the attack near Baqubah, where US soldiers wrested control from Al Qaeda in Iraq last summer. The attack, along with a series of other blasts in the capital and to the north, underlined the uncertainty of security in Iraq even as the US military said violence is down sharply across Iraq.

Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a US military spokesman, said yesterday that terrorist attacks in Iraq are at their lowest levels since January 2006. He said overall violence has dropped 55 percent since a US troop buildup began this year.

Police said the bomb attack occurred as US soldiers were handing out toys, sports equipment, and treats in a playground near Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. Few details were available, but the US military said it was a "suicide vest attack" and that three American soldiers were killed.

Rasoul Issam, 16, said he and his friends were playing soccer when the US soldiers called to them from their vehicles to come get gifts. "We ran toward them and I caught a ball when suddenly an explosion took place about 20 [yards] from us," Issam said from his hospital bed in Baqubah.

Mohammed Sabah, 11, was hit by shrapnel in his hand and chest. "The soldiers gave me pens and I thanked them. After this, the explosion took place and I was hit by shrapnel," he said.

As of yesterday, at least 3,871 members of the US military have been killed since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The US military attributed the suicide attack to Al Qaeda in Iraq. "This is another example of how Al Qaeda in Iraq cares nothing about the Iraqi people," said Major Peggy Kageleiry, a spokeswoman for US forces in northern Iraq.

Iraqi children frequently converge on American troops who usually carry soccer balls and stuffed animals crammed in their armored vehicles as they seek to garner good will.

In July 2005, a suicide car bomber sped up to American soldiers distributing candy to children and detonated his explosives, killing as many as 27 people, including a dozen children and a US soldier.

That occurred about nine months after 35 Iraqi children were killed in a string of bombs that exploded as American troops were handing out candy at a government-sponsored celebration to inaugurate a sewage plant in Baghdad.

Rocket and mortar barrages also hit several US bases in Baghdad overnight Saturday.