An explosive device being transported in a car exploded near a U.S. Army patrol, killing two Iraqis in the vehicle including a relative of Saddam Hussein, the military said today. There were no U.S. casualties.
| Somebody opened their garage door just as Sammy's nephew was driving by and — KABOOM! — no more nephew. |
The blast in a white Mercedes car happened late on Saturday on a street in the former dictatorâs home town of Tikrit, said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division. Russell said the car exploded some 150 yards from his patrol, which had pulled to a halt at a shop in downtown Tikrit just minutes earlier to talk to its owner. âIt was not a suicide bombing. It was a failed attempt to attack coalition forces and they (the carâs occupants) killed themselves,â Russell said. U.S. soldiers have been searching for the same vehicle, which is believed to have been involved in several other bombings, including a December 16 explosion in Tikrit that wounded three American soldiers.
| Now they have it. Parts of it, anyway... |
Russell said one of the two men killed was a nephew of one of Saddamâs brothers, and was carrying a homemade bomb comprised of artillery shells and plastic explosives in his lap that detonated prematurely, killing him instantly and fatally wounding the driver.
| In his lap? Bet that hurt like a sonofabitch, though very briefly... |
A third occupant of the car was taken to a Tikrit hospital in a serious condition and will be questioned by U.S. forces later, Russell said.
"We're gonna want to talk to him later, Doc."
"Which part of him are y'gonna want to talk to?" |
Russell believed the men in the car had been tipped off to the presence of U.S. soldiers patrolling in Tikrit, and in their haste to attack them had detonated the radio-controlled bomb prematurely.
"Mahmoud! There they are! There they are!"
"Dammit, Ahmed! Don't push it yet!" |
In another incident, an explosive device detonated on Saturday afternoon inside a Tikrit shop, blowing off the leg of the storeâs owner and damaging his premises, Russell said. The injured man was apparently handling the device or preparing it for use when it exploded.
| "Hey, y'all! Look what happens when I do this! [KABOOM!]... Ow." |
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