BAGHDAD, 27 July 2003 — Three more US soldiers died in a grenade attack and the death toll in Iraq since the official end of the war rose to 47 yesterday, putting news of the capture of several Saddam Hussein bodyguards in the shade. The latest three soldiers died when a children’s hospital they were guarding in Baqubah, came under attack.
They had been stationed in a tent in the hospital’s garden by the main entrance when the attackers struck. The grenades had probably been thrown from a stairway by the emergency room in the second attack in 48 hours against Americans guarding the hospital. It confirmed military fears and earlier warnings that attacks might increase after the US killed Saddam’s two sons Uday and Qusay in an intense assault Tuesday in the northern city of Mosul. Eight US soldiers have now died since the brothers were killed, in the most costly week for the US military since the end of the war declared by President George Bush on May 1.
The attacks have brought the US mood — buoyed over the deaths of Uday and Qusay — down with a swift bump, despite as many as 10 of Saddam’s bodyguards having been captured on Friday, according to the military.
US forces carried out the raid south of the fugitive former leader’s hometown of Tikrit, acting on a tip-off, the top US commander in the area said.
“We detained 13 individuals. Somewhere between five and 10 of those — we’re still sorting through it — personal security detachment,” Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno said from Tikrit. But the top card in the US most-wanted pack remains at large.
The United States was continuing to “tighten the noose” around Saddam, through tip-offs and an increase in arrests of, or contacts with, people close to him, Odierno added.
The US-led coalition has repeatedly said that the failure to account for key regime leaders is hindering its efforts to rebuild Iraq and providing the seed for a resistance movement.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak also warned yesterday of increased armed attacks against coalition forces in Iraq if the United States did not stabilize the situation and hand power over to Iraqis swiftly.
“If the Americans do not quickly redress the situation, there will be big problems, terrorist operations and gang wars will increase,” Mubarak, an Arab leader close to the United States, told a meeting of students in Alexandria.
Meanwhile, US Army engineers and Iraqi workers started demolishing the mansion where Uday and Qusay were killed.
The mansion’s owner, Nawaf Al-Zaidan, is widely suspected of being the informer who tipped off US forces that the Hussein brothers were in the house. He is expected to pick up a 30-million-dollar reward for his efforts.
