Rocket Attack Kills 4 Iraqis, Mortar Rounds Hit Mosque

A mortar round left a three-foot hole in the dome of the Kadamiya Mosque on Baghdad's south side today. Other rounds landed in the facility's courtyard and in the street just outside the building. Photo courtesy U.S. Army   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

No multinational forces were injured in the attack and no equipment was damaged. The incident is under investigation.

In southern Baghdad today, mortar rounds fired by insurgent militia damaged a mosque.

One round left a three-foot hole in the dome of the Kadamiya Mosque on the city's south side. Another round landed in the facility's courtyard, while a third landed in the street just outside the building.

Multinational forces responded to the blasts.

Lt. Col. James Hutton, a command spokesman with 1st Cavalry Division, the unit charged with security in the Iraqi capital, condemned what he said was the indiscriminant use of mortars by insurgents.

"This attack by insurgent, anti-Iraqi forces is yet another example of brutal and wanton tactics, all of which hurt the large majority of Iraqis who want to move their country forward," Hutton said. "This time they attacked a mosque, a place of worship, for the sole purpose of creating terror."

Military officials also reported today that more weapons and ammunition have been seized in Iraq. Soldiers with Multinational Division Central South confiscated several dozen AK-47 assault rifles, pistols and a large amount of ammunition at checkpoints in the Polish-led area of responsibility. Sixteen suspects were detained and are being questioned by Iraqi police after checks of their vehicles revealed the weapons stashes.

Elsewhere, in the town of al Mashru, Iraqi security forces and multinational forces found and seized a large weapons cache and detained 20 suspects Sept. 23.

More than 320 large-caliber artillery shells were found during joint forces search in Babil province. Such explosives are used to create homemade roadside bombs and are commonly placed in vehicles to create the suicide-bomb attacks that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis and injured thousands.

In addition, almost 50 kilograms of explosive material, several kilograms of TNT, and some AK-47s with ammunition were found and taken into custody.

In other news, multinational forces conducted precision air strikes today on a group of anti-Iraqi forces seen training in an open field south of Fallujah. Military officials reported the individuals were part of a mortar and rocket- propelled grenade training team. Coalition forces fired artillery on 10 to 12 individuals observed as part of the team.

The team reportedly ran into a cave that was being used to supply their efforts and for weapons cache storage. Coalition forces then directed an air strike on the cave with precision-guided munitions. Details on results or damage from the strikes were not available.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)