Attack On Mosul Likely Work Of A Suicide Bomber

According to CBSNews.com:

A suicide bomber was the likely cause of the deadliest single attack on American troops in Iraq — an explosion at a U.S. base that killed 22 people, the Pentagon's top general, Richard Myers, said Wednesday.

Myers described the cause of the deadly blast as an "improvised explosive device worn by an attacker," at a news conference Wednesday. And, as CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier reports, FBI investigators believe they have found the remains of a suicide bomber's torso and a harness device within the mess tent wreckage.

The explosion Tuesday ripped through a dining hall tent while hundreds of troops were sitting down to lunch at Forward Operating Base Marez near the northern city of Mosul. Of the 22 people killed, 13 were U.S. military, five U.S. civilian contractors, three Iraqi security force members and one other non-U.S. individual.

Of the 69 wounded, 25 will return to duty, Myers said.

This is disturbing. This means one of two things has happened if in fact this was the result of a suicide bomber. Either someone trusted to work on the base who had clearance to be there smuggled in a device undetected or second, an outsider was able to get both themself and their device onto the installation and into the most heavily crowded area.

Either way this is bad news. I fell for the 18 Americans lost and sincerely hope that this doesn't devistate the morale of the troops in Mosul.

Please keep these brave Americans in your thoughts.

SlagleRock Out!

Posted by SlagleRock at December 23, 2004 08:13 AM