Suicide car bomb kills two Britons in Baghdad

TWO Britons were among 13 people killed in Iraq yesterday when a suicide car bomber targeted a convoy carrying foreign workers through Baghdad.

Five contractors including the Britons, a Filipino, a Frenchman and an American, died in the blast at Tahrir Square.

After the explosion, jubilant locals danced around the charred bodies, attacked the stricken vehicles with sticks and leaped up and down on their roofs.

The macabre scenes, a grim echo of the murder and mutilation of four United States bodyguards in Fallujah two months ago, was yet another reminder of Iraqis’ growing tendency to blame all their ills on foreigners.

Angry at the deaths of seven Iraqi bystanders caught up in the blast, crowds pelted Iraqi police and US troops with stones and yelled "no, no to America" before burning the US flag.

"The Americans are in charge of the disasters that happen in Iraq, like this explosion, bringing it here with them," said Tahseen Karman, brandishing a large stick which he had used to smash parts of the vehicles.

Qahtan Saleem, a sports photographer, whose cousin’s nearby photography shop was damaged in the blast, added: "The Americans know they are targets, so why do they still drive in public places?"

The five Westerners who died were employees of a subsidiary of the US conglomerate General Electric or security contractors working with the company.

Iraqi interior minister Falah al-Naqib said preliminary information suggested a foreigner carried out the attack.

"The initial information shows that the person who carried out the bombing was not Iraqi and came from outside Iraq," he told al-Arabiya television.

The US-led occupying power and Iraqi officials say foreign fighters have played a major role in the violence gripping Iraq.

Yesterday’s blast was the second suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital in 24 hours and coincided with a wave of assassinations aimed at the new interim government appointed to take over from the US-British occupation authorities on 30 June.

The interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, said five foreign workers had been killed in the morning rush-hour attack, which devastated a busy street and ripped the front off one building.

"The terrorists are trying to prevent the transfer of power and sovereignty on 30 June," he told a news conference.

Hospital officials said at least eight other people, including two African workers, were also killed and dozens wounded, many of them with severe burns or limbs torn off by the blast .

Yesterday’s attack was the third known fatality involving an armoured car in as many weeks.

Last month, a senior British Foreign Office official and a British security worker died when their vehicle was blown apart by a suspected roadside bomb near the coalition Green Zone headquarters.

Two weeks ago two Poles and two US bodyguards were killed during a rocket-propelled grenade attack near Baghdad airport.

Britain’s defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, made a surprise visit to British-controlled Basra yesterday and pledged to work closely with Iraqi officials to improve security before the handover of power. Mr Hoon held a number of meetings with officials to discuss ways of maintaining stability and security throughout the country.

"We believe we can play a very useful part in helping to rebuild Iraq," he said. "Crucial to that is the security of Basra and the rest of the country."

He reiterated that British troops will remain in Iraq after handover of sovereignty, but stressed that their presence in the country after that date was contingent on approval from the new interim government.

'SADDAM MUST BE CHARGED SOON'

COALITION authorities must file charges against Saddam Hussein or let him go when sovereignty is transferred to the Iraqi government on 30 June, the spokeswoman of the International Committee of the Red Cross said yesterday.

Under international and military law, prisoners of war and civilian internees should be released at the end of the conflict and occupation, unless there are charges against them, said Nada Doumani.

Saddam’s case is comparable to that of any other prisoner of war - a status conferred on him by the detaining authorities, she said. However she added it remains to be seen whether the occupation effectively ends with the handover of sovereignty.