Rockets slam into Iraq oil ministry and hotels

BAGHDAD - Guerrillas fired rockets from donkey carts on Friday into Iraq's Oil Ministry compound and two Baghdad hotels used by foreign contractors and journalists, in the latest strikes on targets linked to the US-led occupation.

Iraqi police found a third cart loaded with 21 rockets near the Italian and Turkish embassies. A US soldier said a fourth cart also carrying rockets had been found in the same area.

Flames and smoke belched from the Oil Ministry complex, which controls Iraq's most important industry, crucial for funding reconstruction after decades of conflict and sanctions.

Guests streamed out of the heavily fortified Sheraton and Palestine hotels, which face each other near the banks of the Tigris river, after rockets punched holes in their walls, scattering concrete and broken glass.

"We saw a big flash -- there was just one big bang and then lots of crashing glass," said Dihyaa Salem, a manager at the Sheraton. "There was screaming as everyone left their rooms."

At least one person was badly wounded and others suffered cuts from flying glass. One rocket hit an unoccupied room in the Palestine, blowing a large hole in the wall.

"There was one person badly injured. I saw him taken away," said Loay Yunnis, general manager of the Palestine. "There was blood all over."

Another rocket hit an external lift shaft in the Sheraton, sending debris crashing down through the lobby's glass ceiling.

Reuters journalists staying in the Sheraton were woken by the blast and the shouts of panicking guests.

Colonel Peter Mansoor of the 1st Armored Division said both the Oil Ministry and the hotels were hit by rockets fired from launchers hidden under agricultural goods on donkey carts.

"The peace of Ramadan was once again shattered by terrorists who would target civilian structures," Mansoor said near the Oil Ministry compound, as firefighters tried to contain the blaze.

Close to the Palestine hotel, a donkey cart was lying on its side with several rockets spilling out on to the road.

"This shows the variety as they try to get one step ahead of us and they're going to use varying techniques. Most people would not think of a donkey cart being used to fire rockets from," US Colonel Brad May said. "It's certain that you'd have the element of surprise by using a donkey cart."

US soldiers said a man was also detained near the hotels with rockets in a van.

Guerrillas have mounted increasingly audacious attacks on occupying troops, foreign organisations and Iraqis working with them. Last month rockets were fired at a hotel used by officials in the US-led administration, killing one soldier.

Many foreign organisations have left following a series of suicide car bomb attacks, including a blast that destroyed the headquarters of the United Nations in August, killing 22 people.

On Thursday, a suicide car bomber killed five people including a three-year-old girl in the northern city of Kirkuk near the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), hospital officials said.

The party's leader Jalal Talabani is the head of Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council.

Guerrilla attacks have killed 180 US soldiers since Washington declared major combat in Iraq over on May 1. On Thursday, an American soldier was killed and two wounded when explosives were detonated beside their convoy west of Baghdad.

Facing a mounting death toll in Iraq, Washington has announced plans for a faster handover of power to Iraqis, with a sovereign government expected to be in place by the end of June.

The United States and Britain are seeking backing at the United Nations for their agenda to transfer power. But Russia on Wednesday criticised US plans for not engaging the United Nations further in the transition process.

The US military has responded to the attacks with tougher military tactics, using aerial bombing, satellite-guided missiles and mortars to target suspected guerrilla hideouts.

The commander of US troops in Baghdad, Brigadier General Martin Dempsey, said that since the launch of the American crackdown in the capital this month there had been a 70 per cent fall in attacks on US forces in the city.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq