Building collapse led to Baqouba casualties

[babylonsister]

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=45370

Building collapse led to Baqouba casualties


By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, April 26, 2007

Many of the casualties in Monday’s twin truck bomb attack on a U.S. combat outpost in Baqouba came when the second floor of the building collapsed after the blast, military officials said early Wednesday.

Nine soldiers were killed and 20 other troops were wounded in the attack in As Sadah.

The attack began with small-arms fire, quickly followed by the approach of two trucks laden with explosives, military officials said Wednesday. One of the trucks detonated around 30 meters from the patrol base, while the other hit the outer wall and detonated.

“The explosive blast from the second truck ruptured the wall of the patrol base building, collapsing the second floor and causing the majority of the soldier casualties,” the military said in a statement.

In the immediate area around the base, one house and several smaller structures also collapsed; a hospital and mosque some 200 meters from the patrol base were also damaged, officials said.

The patrol base had been in use by the U.S. troops since March, officials said.

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