2 Coalition Members Killed at Iraq Base

BAGHDAD — Two members of the American-led coalition force were killed and 40 others were wounded in an attack at Camp Victory, a sprawling base near Baghdad's airport that houses the headquarters of American forces in Iraq, the military said today.

Those wounded in the rocket or mortar attack included two "third country nationals," meaning they were neither American nor Iraqis. Most troops stationed at Camp Victory are American but other coalition soldiers are based there. No further details on the attack were immediately released.

Camp Victory and other American bases in Iraq have frequently come under fire, but attacks with such a large number of casualties are rare.

On September 11, one person was killed and 11 were wounded in a rocket attack. The American military said a 240 mm rocket provided to Shiite extremists by Iran was used in that attack. The American-protected Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies and the Iraqi government headquarters, is far more vulnerable as it is situated in central Baghdad.

In Thursday violence, clashes between suspected Al Qaeda gunmen and police at checkpoints near Baqouba left at least one officer dead and two others wounded, according to a police official who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

The pre-dawn attacks lasted about three hours and occurred at two checkpoints in Abbara, north of Baqouba, which is about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, according to police. One gunman was killed and several others fled, police said.

Gunmen also killed five Iraqi civilians and wounded four others in a morning attack on a minibus making its way from Khalis to Kirkuk, police said. Khalis is about 50 miles north of Baghdad.