TAL AFAR (Iraq), Dec 9: A suicide car bomber wounded 58 US soldiers and three Iraqis on Tuesday when he charged the gates of an American military base and blew up his explosives-packed vehicle as troops opened fire.

In Baghdad, a blast hit a mosque after morning prayers, killing three Iraqis and raising the spectre of further sectarian tension adding to instability in Iraq.

Near Falluja, a US Kiowa helicopter made an emergency landing after coming under fire, an American military spokeswoman said. An eyewitness said he had seen the helicopter in flames in a field.

“Both crew walked away with minimal injuries,” the US spokeswoman said.

The day of violence around Iraq began with the blast at the US base in the northern town of Tal Afar shortly before dawn. The explosives-laden car blew a crater in the street and sent glass and debris flying over a wide area.

“It was definitely a suicide bomb — there were pieces of the individual all over the compound,” said Col Michael Linnington of the 101st Airborne Division.

Col Linnington said soldiers manning the gate at the camp opened fire after the driver charged towards them, ignoring orders to stop.

“The soldiers hit the driver several times, causing him to detonate the bomb prematurely,” Col Linnington said. “He was definitely trying to get through the gate and into the camp.”

Most of the 58 soldiers injured suffered cuts, bruises and broken bones, the military said, but four were more seriously wounded and were evacuated to a military hospital.

An Iraqi translator at the base was also wounded and two Iraqis in the town were hospitalized with cuts, a doctor said.

The US Army said there was also a suicide attack at an American field hospital north of Baghdad. An official at the hospital said some soldiers were slightly wounded when a man approached acting as if he was wounded and detonated a device apparently strapped to his back.

Since Washington launched the invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein in March, 308 US soldiers have been killed in action, 193 of them since President George Bush declared major combat over on May 1.

MOSQUE BLAST: In Baghdad, Iraqi police said explosives placed under a car parked in the grounds of a mosque were detonated shortly after morning prayers, killing three people and wounding one.