Iraq Bomb Attack Kills American Woman Soldier

Associated Press Wed, Oct 01, 2003

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - An American woman soldier was killed and three other soldiers were wounded on Wednesday by a bomb blast near the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, the U.S. military said.

The remote controlled bomb was detonated as a convoy of several vehicles headed toward the base, the military said. The base is the headquarters of the U.S. Army's 27,000-strong 4th Infantry Division located in one of Saddam's country palaces on the edge of Tikrit.

"We have one female soldier dead, two troops seriously wounded and one slightly wounded," spokeswoman Major Josslyn Aberle told reporters.

The base is regularly attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire but soldiers are rarely hurt. Wednesday's attack was one of the boldest yet on the base, and took place just 300 yards from the palace entrance.

Guerrilla attacks have killed 82 soldiers since President Bush declared major combat in Iraq over on May 1, according to Pentagon figures.