2일 아침 폭발 후 연기가 바그다드 하늘로 피어오르고 있다.

나다 도우마니 적십자 대변인은 "차량 폭탄이 크게 터지면서 건물도 피해를 입었다. 불행히도 희생자들이 발생했다"고 밝혔다.

목격자들은 적십자 건물로 돌진한 구급차에 실려있던 폭발물로 인해 이번 사고가 일어났다고 말했다.

피해는 늘어날 것으로 보이며, 즉각적인 인명피해 상황은 알려지지 않았다.

폭발현장에는 파괴된 차량들이 남겨진 채 커다란 검은 연기가 솟아올랐다.

연합군 병력은 현장을 차단했다.

두번째 폭발은 첫번째 사건 약 30분 뒤 바그다드의 또다른 지역에서 일어났다. 두 폭발사건이 서로 연관이 있는지는 알려지지 않았다. 세번째 폭발도 있었다고 보고됐다.

첫번째 폭발은 오전 8시20분경 일어났다.

일요일 묵고있던 바그다드의 호텔에서 로켓 공격을 받았던 폴 울포위츠 미 국방부 부장관은 "이라크에서의 연합국의 임무는 계속될 것"이라고 말했다. 이 공격으로 사상자가 발생했었다.

국방부 제 2인자인 울포위츠는 중무장된 알-라시드 호텔에 대한 공격에서 피해를 입지않았다. 이날 발생한 공격으로 미군 1명이 숨지고 15명이 부상당했다고 연합군 대변인은 밝혔다.

일요일 저녁 호텔 부근에서 2차례의 폭발음이 더 들렸다고 미군 관리들은 말했다. 피해상황은 알려지지 않았다.

울포위츠는 바그다드의 미국 관리 및 연합국 관계자들이 묵고 있는 이 호텔 12층에 머물고 있었다. 현지 근무자의 증언에 따르면 호텔 한쪽이 공격을 받았으며, 로켓은 11층 높이까지 도달했던 것으로 알려졌다.

울포위츠는 "이번 테러행위는 이라크 주민들을 이런 일을 한 범죄자들로부터 해방시키고 미국인들을 테러로부터 보호하는 우리의 임무를 완수하는 일을 방해하지 못할 것"이라고 기자들에게 말했다.


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Bloody day in Baghdad, dozens killed in car bombs

Monday, October 27, 2003 Posted: 10:24 PM EST (0324 GMT)
Monday, October 27, 2003 Posted: 10:24 PM EST (0324 GMT)
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 Posted: 0324 GMT (11:24 AM HKT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. Army general says recent deadly bombings against coalition and Iraqi police forces in the Iraqi capital are the first that can be tied with certainty to so-called foreign fighters.

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling said Monday's attacks don't fit with those attributed to loyalists of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime. He said "intelligence" and the "mode of operations" indicated the work of foreign fighters but denied to elaborate on the intelligence.

"We have not seen any attacks that we could directly attribute to foreign fighters (in the past)," Hertling said. "We have seen those today."

Four suicide car bombings rocked Baghdad Monday, killing an estimated 30 people, including two American soldiers, and wounding more than 200 others, U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi hospital officials said.

The bombings targeted the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in central Baghdad and three Iraqi police stations.

U.S. and coalition officials have attributed nearly all attacks against them to former Saddam loyalists, not foreign fighters such as al Qaeda members or militants from surrounding nations.

Yet Samir Sumaidy of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council said foreign fighters, whom he described as "terrorists," were flocking to Iraq.

"Iraq is now a target ... is a rallying place for members of al Qaeda worldwide," he said.

Dozens killed, injured

At least 12 people were killed and more than 20 wounded in the attack at ICRC headquarters, authorities and hospital officials said. Baghdad Police Chief Maj. Bassem Alani said that at least 16 people died and 94 were wounded in attacks on the three police stations.

The Combined Joint Task Force in Baghdad said that a 1st Armored Division soldier was killed and six were wounded Monday at the Al Bayaa police station, but it was unclear where the other American death and injuries took place. The coalition said 19 American soldiers were wounded Monday.

Hertling said the casualty numbers remained fluid while officials compiled information from medical and security officials.

Red Cross spokeswoman Nada Doumani was shocked.

"Maybe it was an illusion to think people would understand after 23 years that we are unbiased," Doumani said. "I can't understand why we've been targeted."

The Red Cross has been providing humanitarian assistance in Iraq since 1980. Red Cross officials vowed to continue their work in Iraq despite the attack.

Plan for fifth attack alleged

Iraqi police said they thwarted an attack on a fourth police station, and in the process wounded and captured a man with a Syrian passport.

A bomb in the man's car apparently failed to explode, and a U.S. ordnance-disposal team was called to al Jaleeda to defuse the bomb. Inside the vehicle, team members found five boxes of TNT and four rocket-propelled grenades set for launch, according to Iraqi police Capt. Sami Hussein.

Hertling had high praise for the work of the Iraqi security forces.

"There were very many deaths today," he said. "A great many were Iraqi policemen. In almost all these bombings today, they prevented innocent civilians from being killed."

In Washington, President Bush and L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, condemned the bombings and said the coalition will not be intimidated.

"There are terrorists in Iraq who are willing to kill anybody in order to stop our progress," Bush said. "The more success we have on the ground, the more these killers will react -- and our job is to find them and bring them to justice."

No connection to hotel strike seen

Hertling said the military did not believe there was a connection between Monday's bombings and Sunday's attack on a hotel in Baghdad where Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying.

Monday was the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and at least one Iraqi official claimed a connection.

"It looks like a coordinated terror campaign to coincide with the first day of the holy month of Ramadan to create a sense of panic and a sense of a complete lack of security," Sumaidy said.

"It's a criminal series of actions which we believe is aimed at also getting the international community to remove its presence here and stop supporting the transition that's taking place."

Since the Iraq war began in March, 353 U.S. troops have been killed, including 229 in hostile fire. Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1, and 213 U.S. troops have died since then, including 113 in hostile fire.

There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures, either during the period of major combat or after May 1. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP reported that the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher.