BAGHDAD, March 21: Guerillas fired rockets into the middle of Baghdad in a rare daylight salvo on Sunday, killing two civilians and wounding six people, including an American soldier, a US military spokesman said.
The latest violence followed worldwide anniversary protests against the war the United States launched to topple Saddam Hussein and disarm Iraq of unconventional weapons, which have yet to be found despite Washington's best efforts.
"Three rockets impacted in central Baghdad on Sunday morning," a US army spokesman said. He said one rocket landed in the Green Zone, one of Saddam's former palace complexes west of the Tigris river, where the US-led administration is based, and two outside.
"We have reports of two Iraqi civilians killed and five injured. One US soldier was slightly injured," the spokesman said. The rocket that hit the Green Zone landed in "Freedom Rest", a 1st Armoured Division rest and recreation area. The missiles used were probably 127-mm rockets, he said.
A rocket attack on Saturday night killed two US soldiers and wounded seven near the flash point town of Falluja. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of US army operations in Iraq, said three rockets hit a base near the town west of Baghdad and two landed outside. The wounded comprised six from the army and one from the navy.
The deaths brought to 395 the number of US troops killed in action since the Iraq conflict began a year ago. US political and military efforts now focus on preparations for a hand over of sovereignty to Iraqis at the end of June.
A bomb exploded at a police station in Khalis, north of Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding two. A roadside bomb intended for a US convoy hurt a municipal worker in Mosul, police said. -Reuters
