| Insurgents carried out at dawn on Thursday a series of bold mortar and rocket attacks around central Baghdad, targeting Sheraton Hotel and foreign embassies. Later on Thursday, a policeman's hand was blown off on the busy Palestine Street as he tried to defuse a roadside bomb. "He went toward the bomb. When he just moved his hand trying to do his job, it exploded," said Colonel Ahmad Husayn. "Two other policemen were seriously hurt by shrapnel, one hit in the stomach and the other in leg," he said, adding that some civilians were also hurt. The early morning bombardments took place on both the east and west banks of the Tigris river with the Sheraton and embassies being the most prominent targets. No casualties were reported, but two Baghdad hospitals reported treating three people with minor injuries. |