Saturday, April 24, 2004
Boston.com / News / World / Suicide boat bombers attack Iraqi oil facilities in Persian Gulf, killing two sailors
By Bassem Mroue, Associated Press, 4/24/2004 17:57
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Suicide attackers detonated explosive-laden boats near oil facilities in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, killing two U.S. Navy sailors in a new tactic against Iraq's vital oil industry. Elsewhere, violence across Iraq killed at least 33 Iraqis and four American soldiers.
It was the first such maritime attack against oil facilities since U.S. troops invaded Iraqi more than a year ago. The blasts resembled attacks in 2000 and 2002 blamed on al-Qaida against the USS Cole and a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen that killed 17 American sailors and a tanker crewman.
In the attack, three dhows, or small boats, drew close to two major oil terminals in Gulf waters about 100 miles from Iraq's main port, Umm Qasr, and exploded when coalition craft tried to intercept them. A U.S. Navy craft was flipped by the blast, killing the American sailors and injuring five others, the U.S. military said.
By Bassem Mroue, Associated Press, 4/24/2004 17:57
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Suicide attackers detonated explosive-laden boats near oil facilities in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, killing two U.S. Navy sailors in a new tactic against Iraq's vital oil industry. Elsewhere, violence across Iraq killed at least 33 Iraqis and four American soldiers.
It was the first such maritime attack against oil facilities since U.S. troops invaded Iraqi more than a year ago. The blasts resembled attacks in 2000 and 2002 blamed on al-Qaida against the USS Cole and a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen that killed 17 American sailors and a tanker crewman.
In the attack, three dhows, or small boats, drew close to two major oil terminals in Gulf waters about 100 miles from Iraq's main port, Umm Qasr, and exploded when coalition craft tried to intercept them. A U.S. Navy craft was flipped by the blast, killing the American sailors and injuring five others, the U.S. military said.
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