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Car Bomb Blast in Najaf Kills 13
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=165776C:A6F02AD83191E160BC742D36CB50AAF39574F7DCC14957C0 Najaf is home to
the mausoleum of Imam Ali, the holiest site in Shi'ite Islam, and the
offices of many leading Shi'ite clerics in Iraq Iraqi police say a car
bomb blast in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf has killed at least 13
people and wounded dozens more.







Iraqis gather at the site where a suicide bomber attacked an Iraqi
police checkpoint in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, 21 Feb 2007Police
say the blast occurred Wednesday near a police checkpoint in the
center of the city, about 160-kilometers south of Baghdad.

Najaf is home to the mausoleum of Imam Ali, the holiest site in
Shi'ite Islam, and the offices of many leading Shi'ite clerics in
Iraq.

Also Wednesday, U.S. military officials are investigating the "hard
landing" of a Black Hawk helicopter, north of Baghdad. No one was
injured during the incident.

Separately, the U.S. military said coalition forces carried out a
series of raids Wednesday, targeting al-Qaida terrorists and
supporters of foreign fighters. The military said seven terrorists
were killed and 13 others detained during the raids in Ramadi,
Fallujah and Baquba.

Earlier, the U.S. military said an American Marine and a soldier were
killed Tuesday during separate combat operations in the restive Al
Anbar province, west of Baghdad.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.


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