IRAQ: Car bomb in Baghdad kills one as insurgents enter gunbattle in Ramadi

A car bomb killed one civilian and wounded 13 others in north-eastern Baghdad on Monday (October 23) as Iraqi Sunni Muslims celebrated the first day of Eid al-Fitr, an Interior Ministry source said. The blast took place near Beirut square. A suicide bomber blew himself up among holiday shoppers in the same area on Sunday (October 22), killing three people and wounding 20 others. In the volatile city of Ramadi, the U.S. military also came under attack. Witnesses reported heavy clashes and a military spokeswoman said the U.S. base there had suffered "multiple attacks" but there were no U.S. casualties. Crackles of gunfire erupted on Sunday (October 22) between insurgents and the U.S. forces, local residents said. They said a gunbattle started after noon prayers when a group of 20 insurgents attacked the city's governor office, where U.S. forces are based with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and heavy machine-guns. U.S. forces returned the fire, witnesses said. The U.S. military did not provide comment or confirmation on the Sunday attack. Ramadi, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) west of Baghdad, is one of several Sunni-majority towns along the Euphrates River west of Baghdad that was a stronghold of support for Saddam Hussein. It has been the site of frequent attacks that have killed Americans as well as Iraqis. U.S. military deaths in Iraq in October have reached at least 85, making it the deadliest month for Americans this year and raising pressure on President George W. Bush before congressional elections next month in which Republicans could lose majorities in both houses. GUNBATTLES BATTLES STREETFIGHTING

ITN Source | October 24, 2006

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