Surveillance aids capture of embassy suspects
| |
| YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS |
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
|
|
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Seven suspected insurgents were being held in connection with a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in central Baghdad that killed an American military service member and a civilian, U.S. military officials said.
Task Force Baghdad soldiers captured the suspects at a house about an hour after the attack, which occurred at 7:45 p.m. (11:45 a.m. ET), amid heavy security ahead of Sunday's landmark elections. (Election preview)
Five other Americans were wounded when a rocket hit a building connected to the embassy's annex. The embassy is in the fortified Green Zone, home to Iraqi government offices and military headquarters for Iraqi and coalition forces. (Full story)
An aerial video recorded several suspects firing a rocket, then running to a home in southeast Baghdad, where 1st Cavalry Division soldiers found an expended rocket tube, according to a written statement from the coalition press office.
"This was a great example of quick reaction on the part of some superb cavalry troopers," said Brig. Gen. Michael Jones, assistant division commander for the 1st Cavalry Division and Task Force Baghdad. "It's one more example to the insurgents that Iraqi and multinational forces will hunt down those responsible for these acts of terrorism."
Other attacks Saturday:
Baghdad police said four Iraqi army soldiers and one Iraqi police officer were wounded when insurgents -- using small arms fire -- attacked three polling stations in northern Baghdad between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Two of the soldiers were wounded in the al-Banook neighborhood and two in the al-Zohuor neighborhood. The officer was hurt in the al-Rashidiyah neighborhood.A roadside bombing killed a U.S. soldier in western Baghdad about 3:45 p.m., a military news release said. The soldier was assigned to Task Force Baghdad.Three Iraqi soldiers and five Iraqi civilians died and seven Iraqis were wounded in two bombings at a U.S.-Iraqi Joint Coordination Center in Khanaqin, a Kurdish town northeast of Baquba near the Iranian border, authorities said. The wounded -- five civilians and two soldiers -- were taken to a hospital after the 10 a.m. blasts.Insurgents attacked the al-Mada'n police station in a southern Baghdad suburb with small arms fire about 5 a.m., wounding two Iraqi police officers, police said.CNN's Cal Perry and Dana Bash contributed to this report.