October 12, 2006
Islamic Army group claims attack on U.S. base
By Adel Fakher and Kawther Abdul-Amir
VOI
The Islamic Army armed group claimed responsibility for attacking and setting fire to an ammunition store at a U.S. military base in Baghdad.
“The Islamic Army mortar and rockets units attacked a base of the occupation forces with two Katyusha rockets and three mortar shells,” said the Islamic Army group in a statement published on the internet on Wednesday.
The rockets and mortar shells fell on the U.S. army base setting fire to an ammunition store there.
The Islamic Army is an armed group claimed attacks on the U.S. forces in Iraq.
The U.S. army said on Wednesday a mortar shelling caused a fire eruption in an ammunition store at a U.S. military base in Baghdad triggering massive explosions that rocked the Iraqi capital on Tuesday night.
It has been “determined that an 82mm mortar round, fired by militia forces from a residential area in Abu T-Shir, caused the fire at an ammunition holding area at approximately 10:40 p.m. Oct. 10,” said U.S. army in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Intelligence indicated that gunmen attacked the U.S. army base in Baghdad southern district of Rasheed, the statement added.
“The fire ignited tank, artillery and small-arms ammunition at a forward operating base in the central Rasheed district of Baghdad,” the army said.
U.S. soldiers and base employees were moved to the safety of hardened buildings and structures on the base, the statement added.
The U.S. army said no injuries were reported.
An Iraqi police source said nine civilians were killed and 18 wounded in the blasts.
Earlier, the U.S. army in Iraq, however, did not report any injuries and said on Wednesday that an ammunition holding area caught on fire at a military base.
The fire erupted at “Multi-National Division –Baghdad forward operating base in the central Rasheed district of Baghdad Oct. 10 at approximately 10:40 p.m.,” the statement said.
“The fire ignited tank and artillery ordnance as well as small arms ammunition. The fire was contained on the base by emergency first responders,” it added.
The army said that all coalition forces and workers at the base were safely evacuated and no injuries have been reported.
“The Baghdad Joint Coordination Center alerted Iraqi authorities who notified Iraqi citizens in the area of the fire and subsequent detonations,” the statement said.
The damage to the area will not degrade the operational capability of the Multi-National Division in Baghdad, it added.
