Troops opened fire yesterday on two explosives-laden trucks that tried to plow through a Polish military camp south of Baghdad, triggering blasts that killed four people -- including the two drivers and two Iraqis -- and wounded 54 people.
The wounded in the apparent suicide attack included 23 soldiers -- 10 Hungarians, 12 Poles, and an American -- and 31 civilians, officials in Baghdad and Warsaw said.
It occurred as members of the country's Iraqi Governing Council continued to push aside the US idea of holding regional caucuses to elect an interim government after the planned June 30 hand over.
The bombing happened after 7:15am when a pair of trucks loaded with explosives tried to drive near the front of Camp Charlie in Hillah. Guards fired at the vehicles, causing one to explode, said Lieutenant Colonel Robert Strzelecki. Another truck struck a concrete barrier and exploded, damaging a nearby house.
Poland leads a multinational force of about 9,500 soldiers in south-central Iraq. Its troops also fought in the US-led war that began March 20 to oust former president Saddam Hussein. Hungary has 300 troops in Iraq providing logistical support and humanitarian aid.
Hungarian Defense Ministry Spokesman Istvan Bocskai said two of the Hungarian soldiers were seriously wounded, but the injuries weren't life threatening.
"One of them is being treated in Baghdad and the other in Babylon," he said, adding Hungary had no plans to withdraw the soldiers. Camp Babylon is the Polish headquarters here.
A Polish officer was killed in last November, the first Polish soldier killed in combat since the aftermath of World War II.
More than 280 people have been killed in suicide attacks across Iraq since the beginning of the year. Yesterday's attack occurred a week after two suicide vehicle bombings -- against an Iraqi police station in Iskandariyah and an army recruiting station in Baghdad -- that killed more than 100 people.
Since the beginning of the year 109 people have been killed in Irbil and 100 in separate attacks in Baghdad and Iskandariyah.
In Baghdad, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, a Shiite Arab member of the Governing Council, said yesterday that the idea of using caucuses was "gone with the wind," adding that the only solution palatable to Iraqis are general elections.
"Anything else will make things worse and the results will be damaging to Iraq," he said. "Only elections will give the legitimacy needed for any future political process or body."
The US also unveiled a list of 32 wanted people included suspected cell leaders, former members of Saddam's military and regional Baath leaders thought to be helping the insurgency.
Atop the list, with a US$1 million reward, is Mohammed Yunis al-Ahmad, a former top Baath Party official. Rewards between US$50,000 and US$200,000 were offered for the others.
Until now, US officials have not made public a list of suspected leaders of the insurgency that erupted after the regime's collapse and has killed more American soldiers than did the invasion that toppled Saddam.
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