Explosion kills US soldier in Iraq convoy

ABU GHRAIB - An explosion killed a United States soldier in Iraq last night, bringing the death toll of servicemen killed in combat since the US-led invasion to 147, equalling the total of American fatalities in the 1991 Gulf War.

A military convoy driving on a highway near Abu Ghraib, 25km west of Baghdad, was hit by an explosion that badly damaged a military truck and left two other soldiers wounded, US soldiers on the scene said.

"We were driving by in a convoy and we heard a big explosion. As the convoy passed that truck over there blew up," Specialist Jose Colon said.

"One of the men who was injured was angry so he jumped out of the truck and started firing on those bushes. He is lucky because he almost died the other day as well in another truck explosion."

An officer at the scene said the type of explosion was not clear.

The body of the dead soldier lay on the highway covered with a yellow sheet as the two wounded men received treatment. Helicopters hovered above and US soldiers stood guard, pointing their machineguns towards the edge of the road and peering through binoculars for other possible attackers. One soldier put his arm around another and comforted him as he cried.

About 40 Iraqis walked out of their neighbourhood and watched. Their mood was different.

"We are happy because this is an occupation," Mansour Badri, a teenager said. "The Americans lied to us when they said they would save us from Saddam. They just want to occupy our country."

Badri and his friends said Baath Party supporters had been encouraging teenagers like them to fight against Americans and had offered them money.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq