REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Tuesday, October 26, 2004

AUSTRALIAN troops suffered their first casualties in Iraq when three soldiers were wounded in a massive car bomb attack on their convoy in Baghdad.

In the first direct attack on Australia’s defence forces in Iraq, a car bomb was set off as a military convoy of three Australian vehicles drove by on a routine patrol 350m from the Australian Embassy.

The three Australians were not seriously hurt, but three Iraqi bystanders were killed and several others – including young children – were wounded in the attack.

One of the Australians received facial injuries, another was concussed, and the third was treated for minor abrasions and released, said the Australian Defence Force.

The three, members of the Darwin-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment, were treated in a nearby US medical facility and next of kin were being informed.

The soldier with facial injuries was undergoing surgery but his condition was not lifethreatening, said ADF spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan.

Brigadier Hannan said a ‘substantial bomb’ had been set off in the attack and initial indications pointed towards a suicide strike. However, US Major Scott Stanger said the explosives were hidden inside a taxi parked beside the road, with the bomb detonated by remote control.

The explosion which occurred at 8am local time rocked the neighbourhood, scattering debris and sending a huge cloud of smoke into the sky over the western bank of the Tigris River.