Guerrillas fire rockets into heart of Baghdad

12.50pm

BAGHDAD - Guerrillas fired rockets at the headquarters of the United States-led administration in central Baghdad on Tuesday and loudspeakers ordered personnel in the compound to take cover as explosions echoed across the Iraqi capital.

"Attack. Take cover. This is not a test," warned loudspeakers at the compound in one of Saddam Hussein's former palace complexes. Sirens wailed, flares lit up the night sky and US helicopters clattered overhead.

A spokesman for the US 1st Armoured Division which patrols Baghdad said at least two rockets had been fired. One crashed through the roof of an empty apartment building near the coalition compound and another landed near a bus station.

"There are no reports of US soldiers being injured, or of civilian casualties" the spokesman said.

But he said two Iraqi police were wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near a Baghdad petrol station.

The US Central Command, which covers Iraq, said attackers fired mortar bombs at American soldiers at a forward position in Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit early on Tuesday. The Americans retaliated with counter-fire.

"One person was found unresponsive and one was wounded," the command said in a statement. A command spokeswoman was unable to explain what "unresponsive" meant. "Just stick to the wording," she said.

Guerrilla attacks in Iraq have become increasingly brazen. On Saturday, a DHL cargo plane made an emergency landing in Baghdad with an engine on fire after being hit by a surface-to-air missile. A video tape delivered to a French journalist apparently showed the missile being fired.

The footage showed several men with their faces concealed by scarves, carrying grenade and missile launchers. One aimed a shoulder-fired missile at a plane.

The attackers were shown escaping by car, and the tape then showed a plane descending with smoke pouring from one wing.

ATTACKS ON US TROOPS DOWN

A top US general said earlier on Tuesday that tougher US tactics had halved the number of attacks on his forces in Iraq in the past two weeks, but that assaults on Iraqis had surged.

General John Abizaid told a news conference US forces had stepped up operations to counter a rise in insurgent activity.

"These offensive actions in the past two weeks have actually driven down attacks on coalition forces... I would say the attacks are down by about half," he said. "But unfortunately we have found that attacks against Iraqis have increased."

US administrator Paul Bremer predicted more violence.

"We have to anticipate that there will continue to be a level of terrorism in this country in the months ahead," he said.

Bremer and the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council unveiled a plan 10 days ago to restore Iraqi sovereignty in June, reversing earlier US insistence that a new constitution and elections should precede any transfer of power.

"The principal reason for this agreement was an effort to reconcile different positions: an Iraqi desire to directly elect delegates to a constitutional convention and the coalition's desire to give Iraqis sovereignty at an early date," Bremer said, adding there would be talks with the Governing Council about security arrangements after sovereignty was returned.

"It is our anticipation that the (transitional) Iraqi government... will want to have coalition forces here," he said.

In a letter to the UN Security Council on Monday, Jalal Talabani, president of the Iraqi council, said a provisional legislative body would be chosen by May 31. This would elect a provisional sovereign government by the end of June.

Then "the Coalition Provisional Authority will be dissolved and the occupation... will end", Talabani's letter said. A new Iraqi constitution would be drafted by March 15, 2005, and then presented to Iraqis in a referendum. A new government would be elected by the end of 2005, the letter said. It asked for a new Security Council resolution to endorse the timetable.

US SAYS MORE TROOPS NOT NEEDED

Guerrillas fighting the occupation have killed 183 US troops since Washington declared major combat over on May 1, according to the latest Pentagon figures.

Washington blames the attacks on insurgents loyal to Saddam and foreign Muslim militants.

The United States has about 130,000 troops in Iraq, but some Congressmen say more are needed to curb the insurgency. Abizaid, however, said there were enough troops on the ground.

Asked whether US-led forces were facing a co-ordinated guerrilla campaign, Abizaid said there were a number of cells operating countrywide, mainly in urban areas.

"There is some indication of regional coordination between the cells. We haven't really seen what I would call levels of national coordination, although that remains unknown," he said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq