- BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A large
explosion was heard in central Baghdad Saturday and smoke could be seen
rising from an area close to the headquarters of Iraq's U.S.-led administration,
Reuters witnesses reported.
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- The blast happened at around 4:35 p.m. (8:35 a.m. EST)
and shook doors and windows in the center of the city. A U.S. army spokeswoman
had no immediate information on the explosion.
-
- A cloud of black smoke hung briefly in the air after
the blast. Two U.S. helicopters circled the area.
-
- Guerrillas have fired mortar bombs or rockets into the
compound on the west bank of the Tigris river containing the administration
headquarters -- a palace formerly used by Saddam Hussein -- several times
in the past week.
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- Over the past three nights, U.S. forces have responded
by using heavy weapons and air strikes on several buildings they say were
being used by insurgents in an operation they have dubbed "Iron Hammer."
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- Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.
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