BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – Up to six suicide bombers, some armed with rifles, tried to storm an army base in Baghdad yesterday, killing 12 people and wounding 36 less than a week after Washington declared U.S. combat operations in Iraq over.
The assault began when a minibus packed with explosives was driven at the back gate of the base, followed by one or two suicide bombers on foot who blew themselves up when they came under fire.
A final pair of gunmen fought an hour-long battle with troops inside a nearby building, security officials said.
The U.S. military said its troops opened fire and provided air support for Iraqi forces during the gunbattle. U.S. forces are no longer officially on a combat mission in Iraq, but nearly 50,000 remain to train and assist the Iraqi military.
Yesterday’s assault took place in broad daylight, just over two weeks after dozens of Iraqi army recruits and soldiers were killed by another suicide bomber at the same compound and a few days after the Aug. 31 end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq.
Insurgents are targeting Iraqi police and troops as the U.S. military gradually pulls out more than seven years after invading, while the failure of Iraq’s leaders six months after an election to agree a new government has also stoked tensions.
“It was an attempt to break into the Rusafa military command,” said Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, whose office put the final toll at 12 killed and 36 wounded.
“It was similar to the attack on the central bank but security forces foiled the assault and killed all attackers,” Moussawi said, referring to a June 13 siege by up to seven suicide bombers of the Central Bank of Iraq.
The explosions left a deep crater filled with body parts at the entrance to the base while bloodstains and bullet marks in an unused defence ministry building bore witness to a fierce gunfight.