Iraq violence spirals:New kidnappings seek to hamper rebuilding of war-rav

Tue, July 27, 2004


Iraq violence spirals

New kidnappings seek to hamper rebuilding of war-ravaged country
By AP

BAGHDAD -- A suicide car bomber attacked near a U.S. base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, assassins gunned down a senior Interior Ministry official and militants said they kidnapped two Jordanian truck drivers in spiralling violence that left eight people dead yesterday. Employees leaving the base in Mosul said a Chevrolet sedan drove up and exploded about 45 metres from the gates, setting nearby cars on fire.

U.S. military spokeswoman Capt. Angela Bowman said a woman and a child standing nearby and an Iraqi guard were killed. Three U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi guards were injured. Mosul has been the scene of numerous terrorist attacks, including two car bombings in January and June that each killed nine people.

The incidents were the latest in a wave of attacks against coalition forces and abductions of foreigners designed to pressure countries to withdraw their troops from Iraq and to hamper efforts to rebuild the country.

George Sada, spokesman for interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, said the abductions were affecting Iraq's reconstruction because some countries were now preventing their citizens -- labourers and experts alike -- from coming to help. Still, the kidnappings "might delay the process but they are not going to stop it," he said.
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http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2004/07/27/558340.html

It can get damn confusing without it.