37 dead in Iraq attacks

Jul 31 2005 By Karen Attwood, The Sunday Sun

Insurgents have killed up to 37 people, including two Britons, in a series of attacks in Iraq this weekend.

The two Britons died when a British Embassy convoy was hit by a bomb blast outside Basra, in southern Iraq, yesterday.

The men, who were working as security guards, were hired from a company called Control Risks.

The Foreign Office confirmed the men were British citizens but could not give further details.

Two Iraqi children were also seriously injured when a second device exploded five minutes later.

The latest deaths bring the number of British civilians killed in Iraq since March 2004 to 23.

It was not immediately clear who was in the convoy or whether anyone else was injured in the attack in the Qiblah district.

And two more American soldiers were killed this weekend by insurgents, the US military confirmed yesterday.

Their deaths brought to 11 the number of American troops killed in Iraq last week. Eight of them died in combat.

At least 1789 US soldiers are believed to have been killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.

Meanwhile, a massive car bomb in central Baghdad yesterday killed seven people and injured 25.

A mother and her two children were among the victims of the blast near the National Theatre, police said. Their condition was not known last night.

Also yesterday, a mortar attack on a Sunni mosque in the Iraqi capital killed one civilian and injured three others.

The shells landed outside the Macca Al-Mukarama mosque.

It was also reported that up to 25 people died in a suicide bomb attack close to the border with Syria.

A statement posted on the internet in the name of al Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack in which man wearing a belt of explosives blew himself up among Iraqi army volunteers.

The bombing took place in Rabiah, a town 230 miles north of Baghdad.

The attack on the British convoy with a home-made bomb took place on the outskirts of Basra, at 9.30am local time.

Police officer Falah Hassan said the attack took place on a "strategic highway".

Ex-servicemen skilled in personal protection make up the majority of security guards working in an increasingly unstable Iraq.

Former members of the SAS are among those earning up to £1000 a day to provide armed protection.

For high-ranking officials a 24-hour guard can cost £6000 a day and includes a plethora of armed guards as well as transportation in armoured vehicles.

A message on the Foreign Office website reads: "The security situation is dangerous. The threat to British nationals remains high.

"Since the beginning of March 2004, at least 21 British civilians have been killed and several others seriously injured in terrorist incidents.

"A statement was issued by an international terrorist group, linked to al Qaida, on 18 April 2005, threatening more action against British forces.

"Any British nationals in Iraq should consider this increased threat and review their security arrangements and seek professional advice on whether they are adequate."

Britain has some 8500 troops in Iraq, mostly based in the south.

The deaths of three soldiers in an attack on British troops in the Maysan region two weeks ago took the number of British personnel who have died in Iraq since the start of hostilities in March 2003 to 92.

The Control Risks company employs some 500 contractors in Iraq, a spokeswoman said.

One contractor working for the company was killed in an attack in Iraq some 15 months ago, she added.

The spokeswoman said the men's next of kin were currently being informed.

"Although anyone working in Iraq is well aware of the dangers involved, this in no way diminishes the sadness we feel for the families of the two men who have died today," she added.

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