BAGHDAD, 22 November 2003 — Twin multiple rocket attacks hit Baghdad’s main media hotels and Oil Ministry complex yesterday, seriously wounding a US contractor, while the Italian mission was also targeted in violence Iraq’s police chief linked to the deadly Istanbul bombings.
Two makeshift launchers with a total of 52 unfired rockets in their tubes were found close to the Baghdad embassy of Italy, already struck by militants opposed to the US-led occupation of Iraq. The gerrybuilt weapons attached to timers powered by car batteries were all mounted on donkey carts and concealed under hay, in a tactic that US commanders acknowledged had caught them off guard.
At the Palestine Hotel, made famous by its use as a media center during the US-led spring invasion, an employee of Kellogg Brown Root (KBR), a subsidiary of US giant Halliburton was seriously hurt, hotel staff said. Two rockets struck the adjacent Sheraton Hotel, which is also used by Western news organizations, shattering its central glass atrium and slightly injuring a receptionist. The launcher was placed in Saadoun Street, the capital’s main commercial thoroughfare, just outside the heavily fortified compound housing the two hotels, which is guarded by US tanks.
Another rocket attack hit the city-center Oil Ministry complex almost simultaneously at around 7:30 a.m. (0430 GMT). Smoke could be seen pouring out of fifth-floor windows.
“There were no casualties. The fire is under control,” said US Col. Pete Mansoor.
The other two launchers, found respectively 200 and 600 meters from the Italian mission here, were discovered before they could go off. A note in broken English was found with one of the launchers. “To all the forces ... (specially the Jews ... American forces) get ... from our country. Do not ... let your mother crying,” said the message.
The Italian mission acknowledged the threat but insisted it would not be cowed.
“We were lucky that these rocket launchers were found and made safe in time,” said Maria Catena, political adviser to the Italian special envoy. “We are staying very vigilant and security measures are being taken.”
But asked if the attempted rocket attack would spark any reduction in the Italian presence here, she said: “No”. Italy’s high-profile involvement in the US-led occupation, with 2,300 troops in southern Iraq, has already made it a target for attack.
Meanwhile, four people were killed, including a child, and 20 others injured yesterday in a grenade attack on a stall in south Baghdad selling alcohol, hospital officials said. “An hour and half ago (8:30 p.m. — 1730 GMT), someone threw a grenade onto the stall in Bayaa Street and ran off,” said Zaher Turki, head of security at the main hospital in the Yarmuk district of the capital.
