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Donkey carts in Baghdad rocket attacks

More than a dozen rockets fired from donkey carts slammed into Iraq's Oil Ministry and two downtown hotels yesterday morning -- brazen coordinated strikes at some of Baghdad's most heavily protected civilian sites that defied a US crackdown.

Two other rocket launchers mounted on donkey carts were found within hours -- one 30m from the Italian Embassy and another near the Academy of Fine Arts, both in the Waziriya neighborhood north of downtown.

Iraqi police and US troops were seen securing those weapons, which apparently had not been fired, and US soldiers were seen searching donkey carts on nearby streets.

One man was carried away bleeding from the Palestine Hotel, where many foreign journalists and US workers are staying. No other casualties were reported at the Palestine or the Sheraton Hotel across the street, and police said no one was hurt at the ministry.

"This is the work of terrorists," said Loay Yunis Khalil, manager of the Palestine Hotel.

Elsewhere, a US soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division was killed and two were injured near the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, on Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded next to their convoy, the military said yesterday.

To the south, in the city of Karbala, at least four mortar shells were fired into a Thai military camp on Thursday, officials in Bangkok said yesterday.

The Baghdad attacks occurred at the height of "Operation Iron Hammer," the US military counteroffensive against rebels in and around the capital.

The US commander in the capital, Brigadier General Martin Dempsey, said Thursday that the 12-day crackdown had contributed to a 70 percent decrease in rebel activity.

The rocket attacks appeared intended to demonstrate that the operation hasn't defeated the rebels. Nobody claimed responsibility and there were no immediate reports of arrests.

The attacks both occurred about 7:20am. At least eight rockets were fired at the Oil Ministry, but only two of them detonated, Colonel Peter Mansoor of the US 1st Armored Division said.

The ministry was closed yesterday for the Muslim day of prayer and no injuries were reported there. A ministry official said that a fire was quickly extinguished and caused no major damage to the building. He said oil production would not be affected.

Mansoor said one rocket hit the Palestine Hotel, but at least five rocket holes could be seen on the eighth, 15th and 16th floors of the 18-story structure. Another rocket hit the Sheraton.

Ziyad, a 25-year-old Iraqi man who was staying with his bride at the Palestine for their wedding night was two doors down from an area hit on the 15th floor.

"We were sleeping when we heard the sound of a rocket. This is our wedding present," he said.

Employees of US agencies met in the Palestine lobby for impromptu security briefings from military consultants.

At least one man was injured at the Palestine Hotel, and was carried away by US military medics on a stretcher. He was bleeding from his head. Mansoor confirmed one injury, but didn't know the man's nationality or more details about him.

He said the attacks bore a close resemblance to a strike last month on the Al-Rasheed Hotel, just across the Tigris River, which housed many US military officials and occupation authorities. One soldier was killed at the Al-Rasheed, which has since been evacuated.
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