Saturday, April 28, 2007

Loud explosions rock southern Baghdad - witnesses

BAGHDAD, April 29 (Reuters) - About two dozen loud explosions shook southern Baghdad on Sunday, Reuters reporters heard.

The blasts, several seconds apart, sounded like artillery.

The U.S. military could not immediately confirm the cause of the blasts. U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said the military sometimes fired artillery in support of operations.

Tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops have been deployed in Baghdad as part of a 10-week-old security crackdown to combat sectarian militias and insurgents.

While the plan has reduced the number of sectarian killings, car bombs in the capital and across Iraq remain a security concern for military commanders.

Many roadside bombs, the deadliest weapon for U.S. soldiers in Iraq, have exploded recently in southern Baghdad.

**UPDATE**

US launches artillery barrage in southern Baghdad

BAGHDAD, April 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. military in Iraq launched an artillery barrage in southern Baghdad on Sunday against suspected insurgent targets, with two dozen loud explosions shaking the southern outskirts of the capital.

U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said the morning blasts, which were heard across the city, were caused by U.S. artillery but declined to say what the target was.

Tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops have been deployed in Baghdad as part of a 10-week-old security crackdown to combat sectarian militias and insurgents.

The Iraqi police said the artillery was being fired from the U.S. Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad into the al-Buaitha neighbourhood of Dora, a volatile district that is a Sunni insurgent stronghold.

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