Bomb at Italian base in Iraq kills at least 27

3.30pm UPDATE

NASSIRIYA, Iraq - Suicide car bombers devastated an Italian military police base in the Iraqi town of Nassiriya on Wednesday, killing at least 18 Italians and nine Iraqis.

In Washington, President George W. Bush directed Iraq's US governor Paul Bremer to speed the transfer of postwar authority to the Iraqi people. The move followed Bremer's sudden recall to the US capital on Tuesday for urgent consultations.

US forces hit back against Iraqi guerrillas following a succession of night-time attacks on the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad that has underscored the growing boldness of the insurgents. A military statement codenamned the new sweep operation "Iron Hammer".

It said US forces used a Hercules aircraft modified for attack to destroy an abandoned warehouse thought to be used by guerrillas. Two Iraqis were killed in a US helicopter strike against a van used to launch mortar attacks on the US military.

But the US-led occupation forces faced their biggest challenge with a suicide bombing in the southern town of Nassiriya that tore off the front of the three-storey concrete building used by Italian Carabinieri paramilitary police.

The blast, on the Euphrates riverfront, set cars on fire and sent a plume of black smoke into the air. Sixteen servicemen and two Italian civilians were killed -- Italy's highest military death toll since World War Two.

"A truck crashed into the entrance of the military police unit, closely followed by a car which detonated," a spokeswoman for the British-led multinational force in southern Iraq said.

The Italian ANSA news agency cited Giorgio Cornacchione, commander of Italina troops in Nassiriya, as saying there were four suicide bombers in two vehicles with between 150 and 300 kg of explosives.

Khudair al-Hazbar, director of Nassiriya General Hospital, said at least nine Iraqis were killed and more than 80 wounded.

"The front of my house is destroyed," Jamal Kadhim Shwail, a doctor who lives near the base, told Reuters by telephone. "I have just come back from the hospital where I operated on my own two daughters. It was a huge explosion. We are all in shock."

Martino said fighters loyal to deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein were behind the attack.

US officials speaking on condition of anonymity said a Central Intelligence Agency report had concluded that Iraqis were increasingly siding with the insurgency amid doubts about US ability to crush it.

The report, warning of possible failure for Bush's efforts to establish Iraq as a democracy if the situation is not fixed, said aggressive US counter-insurgency measures were also leaving many Iraqis disillusioned and pushing them to back rebels, one US official said.

Bremer rushed back from Baghdad to Washington on Tuesday for talks with top Bush aides on Iraq's future.

Bremer said he would return to Baghdad for talks with members of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council on how best to accelerate a handover of power to Iraqis.

"We are looking at all sorts of ideas and we do want to accelerate the papce of reform," Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters.

Jalal Talabani, who holds the rotating presidency of the Governing Council, said the best way forward was to install a provisional government without delay.

Bloodiest attack since August

Wednesday's bombing, described by Pope John Paul as a "vile attack" against a mission of peace, was the bloodiest single attack in Iraq since August when at least 80 Iraqis were killed by a car bomb outside a mosque in Najaf.

The Italian deaths were the first among non-British members of the southern multinational force in hostile fire.

Around 2,300 Italian troops are in southern Iraq, many based in Nassiriya which had been relatively calm since the war.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italian troops would stay.

Attacks in Iraq have killed at least 155 US soldiers since major combat was declared over on May 1. Two US soldiers were killed in separate bomb attacks on Tuesday.

An Iraqi security guard was killed on Wednesday in the northern city of Mosul as a US military compound came under attack by insurgents firing rocket propelled grenades and small-arms. Military authorities said a group of 14 men attacked the compound, there were no US casualties.

In Falluja, west of Baghdad, US soldiers opened fire on a truck, killing five Iraqis, hospital officials said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq