At least 30 Iraqis have been killed and scores more wounded in a blast at an ammunitions dump in Iraq. According to media reports, the people had been trying to loot the dump.
Witnesses said Monday US forces arrested several looters after the blast. The explosion took place in a desert area north of the town of Haditha, some 250 kms northeast of Baghdad.
Elsewhere, Iraqi fighters fired a rocket propelled grenade at an American military vehicle in the town of Fallujah, injuring an "embedded" reporter with NBC News, the US military said Monday. Three Iraqis were killed when their pickup truck slammed into a vehicle helping evacuate the wounded reporter, AP said.
The rocket-propelled grenade hit an Avenger air defense vehicle - a Humvee equipped with a missile launcher - injuring the reporter who was traveling in the vehicle but leaving the soldiers unscathed, said a statement from U.S. Central Command.
Sgt. Patrick Compton, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said the reporter was evacuated to a combat support hospital and was listed in stable condition.
Two of the pickup truck's civilian occupants died immediately, a military statement said. The other died later from his wounds. The soldiers - all with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division - were unhurt. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
