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U.S. Marine Capt. Joe Plenzler, a public affairs officer with the 1st Marine Division, told the Associated Press and CNN that a man, dressed as a civilian and laden with explosives, approached a Marine checkpoint in downtown Baghdad and detonated the explosives. The unidentified bomber was killed in the blast, which occurred around 7:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. EDT). The checkpoint is located near Firdos Square, the site where a jubilant crowd, aided by U.S. troops, toppled a large statue of Saddam Hussein a Wednesday. BBC and CNN journalists staying at the Palestine Hotel, situated just north of the Marine checkpoint, reported they could see black smoke rising from the scene. Plenzler told the Associated Press that four Marines were seriously wounded, but did not elaborate. Reports about the casualties have been conflicting. Reuters and the BBC quoted Marine officer Matt Baker telling reporters in Baghdad, "Some are dead in the attack but I don't know how many." Reuters also cited an unidentified Marine saying four U.S. servicemen were wounded, but he was uncertain if any had died. Initial reports have not said if any nearby civilians were wounded or killed by the blast. Military officials at Central Command headquarters in Qatar later confirmed there had been a suicide bombing but did not provide details about the casualties. The Pentagon has not released an official statement about the attack. "It confirms what we expected,'' Plenzler said, referring to the apparent suicide assault. "We expected the enemy would try to pull all the dirty tricks out of the bag."Iraqi officials have repeatedly warned that suicide attacks would become "routine military policy" to strike back at U.S.-led forces. On April 5, two Iraqi women blew themselves up in an apparent suicide attack on U.S. forces, killing three American soldiers in western Iraq. On March 29, a bomber in a taxi cab pulled up to a roadblock north of Najaf, waved to American troops for help, then blew up his vehicle up as they approached, killing four. These incidents have compelled U.S. troops to become more cautious at military checkpoints. The suicide attack comes as U.S. forces on Thursday engaged in fierce battles against pro-Saddam fighters holding out in the Iraqi capital. U.S. Maj. General Victor Renuart, director of operations at Central Command headquarters in Doha, cautioned earlier Thursday that Baghdad "is still an ugly place."
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April 10, 2003, 5:50pm EDT
