Cunning, sophistication seen in Iraq ambush

BAGHDAD -- The armored sport utility vehicles whisked into a government compound in the city of Karbala with speed and urgency, the way most Americans and foreign dignitaries travel along Iraq's treacherous roads.

Iraqi guards at checkpoints waved them through Saturday afternoon because the men wore what appeared to be legitimate US military uniforms and badges, and drove cars commonly used by foreigners, the provincial governor said.

Once inside, however, the men unleashed one of the deadliest and most brazen ambushes on US forces in a secure, official area. Five American service members were killed in a hail of grenades and gunfire in a breach of security that Iraqi officials called unprecedented.

The attack, which lasted about 20 minutes, occurred on a day when the United States lost at least 20 other troops, including a dozen in a helicopter crash. Saturday, the third-most lethal day for American forces in Iraq, coincided with the arrival of 3,200 troops of the 82d Airborne Division's Second Brigade Combat Team, the first unit to reach Baghdad as part of a 21,500 troop increase that the Bush administration hopes will restore order in the violent capital.

US military officials said yesterday that they could not discuss the attack in Karbala in detail because it remained under investigation. But they said the version of events provided by the governor's office was consistent with their preliminary findings.

After arriving at the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, in southern Iraq, the attackers detonated sound bombs, Iraqi officials said. "They wanted to create a panic situation," said an aide to Akeel al-Khazaali , the governor of Karbala. The aide described the events with the governor's permission but on condition of anonymity because he fears reprisals.

The men then stormed into a room where Americans and Iraqis were making plans to ensure the safety of thousands of people expected to visit the holy city for an upcoming holiday.

"They didn't target anyone but the American" service members, the aide said.

After the attack, the assailants returned to their vehicles and drove away. It was unclear how many people participated, and the men's identities and motive remained unclear, but the attack was particularly striking because of the resources and sophistication involved, Iraqi officials said.

The men drove toward the city of Babil, north of Karbala, where they shot at guards at a checkpoint, said Captain Muthana Ahmad, a police spokesman. Vehicles later recovered contained three bodies and one injured individual. The US military took possession of the vehicles, the spokesman said.

In December 2004, a US base in Mosul was penetrated by a suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including 14 US service members. But Saturday's attack appeared to present a new danger: assailants who disguise themselves as officials and travel in convoys.

"The way it happened and the new style, the province has not seen before," said Abdul Al al- Yasri, head of the provincial council in Karbala. "And this will make us insist on carrying on the security procedures even on official delegates and diplomats when they are coming to Karbala Province."

Military officials said yesterday that the cause of the helicopter crash, which killed 12 soldiers northeast of Baghdad on Saturday, remained under investigation. They said they could not confirm accounts by Iraqi officials and civilians who said it was shot down by insurgents in a Sunni Muslim-dominated area of Diyala Province. US officials initially reported 13 soldiers died in the crash.

The military also announced that two Marines were killed in separate combat incidents yesterday in Anbar Province in western Iraq. The military said four soldiers and one Marine were killed in combat Saturday in Anbar. The service members' names were withheld pending notification of their relatives, officials said.

Reports of carnage targeting Iraqis also continued yesterday. A passenger stepped off on a public minivan in Baghdad, leaving behind a bomb that exploded, killing seven people, said General Sadoun Qasim of the Interior Ministry.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, at least five people were killed by two improvised explosive devices.

Four Iraqis, including a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old, were killed Friday by an improvised explosive device in the city of Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad, the US military said in a statement. An ambulance transporting one of the wounded struck another roadside bomb en route to the hospital. The second blast caused no injuries.