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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (481918)	10/27/2003 3:54:01 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 769670

washingtonpost.com Explosion Rocks Baghdad Red Cross Charles J. Hanley AP Special Correspondent Monday, October 27, 2003; 2:05 AM BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A vehicle packed with explosives blew up Monday in front of the international Red Cross building, police and witnesses said. At least two people including the driver were killed and several injured, police added. Reports of other blasts rumbling through the city. Iraqi police Lt. Sultan Mohammed said the explosion came from an ambulance as it drove in front of the Red Cross building, and driver and perhaps a passerby were killed. Two cars could be seen burning in front of the building. Ghani Kadim, 50, a cigarette vendor, said he watched an ambulance move down the street toward the Red Cross building. "As it entered the front gate of the compound, it exploded," he said. American troops and Iraqi police streamed into the neighborhood and cordoned off the area. Red Cross spokeswoman Nada Doumani said there were casualties among the Red Cross staff but she gave no figures and did not say if they were dead or injured. She said the building normally has about 100 people, mostly Iraqis, working there but it was unclear how many were in their offices. "Of course we don't understand why somebody would attack the Red Cross," she said. "It's very hard to understand." She said the international Red Cross has been working in Iraq since 1980 and "has not been involved in any politics." Asked if the organization would remain in Iraq, she replied: "I don't even know what we're going to do." Three other blasts could be heard throughout the city following the Red Cross blast, which occurred after 8:30 a.m. Witnesses said one blast was in the al-Khadra neighborhood, where the relief organization CARE is located. Another was in the al-Shaab district, another witness said. The blast blew down a 40-foot section of the front wall in front of the three-story Red Cross building, demolished a dozen cars in the area and apparently broke a water main, flooding the streets. Another witness, Maiytham Mohammed, said the blast knocked him off his feet and "there was huge smoke from the area." © 2003 The Associated Press