The United States military was re-examining security measure at bases around Iraq on Thursday, a day after saying that a suicide bomber likely carried out the attack at a camp near Mosul that killed 22 people.
The explosion on Monday at the tightly guarded US base raised questions about how the attacker infiltrated the compound, which is surrounded by blast walls and barbed wire and watched by US troops who search every person going in and check his identity.
However, Iraqis do a variety of jobs at the base, including translation, cleaning, cooking, construction and office duties.
A spokesperson for the US military command in Baghdad said on Thursday security measures are subjected to changes when needed.
”It is a fluid situation where our security measures and plans are constantly being adapted and reworked,” said First Sergeant Steve Valley.
The apparent sophistication of Tuesday’s operation — one of the deadliest single attacks on US troops since the war began — indicated the attacker probably had inside knowledge of the base’s layout and the soldiers’ schedule. The blast came at lunchtime.
”We always have force protection keeping their eyes out,” Lieutenant Colonel Paul Hastings, spokesperson for Task Force Olympia, the main force that controls northern Iraq, said on Thursday. ”For somebody that wants to take his life and kill himself, its very difficult to stop those people.”
Asked how they will act following the attack, Hastings said that now that the cause of the attack is known, ”a full investigation is now ongoing and from that full investigation we will act according”.
At the Pentagon on Wednesday, General Richard Myers, the chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a suicide bomber had apparently strapped an explosive device to his body and entered the dining hall where the blast occurred.
Military activity
Early on Thursday, hundreds of US troops, Iraqi national guards and Kurdish militiamen were seen in the streets of Mosul moving around in Bradley fighting vehicles. In some eastern neighbourhoods, such as Muharebeen, Nour, Karama and Hadbaa, they entered homes in search of weapons.
One of the city’s five bridges over the Tigris River reopened on Thursday, after all were blocked off by US troops on Wednesday.
Schools remained closed but more people were seen in the streets compared with the previous day. Iraqi national guards manned a checkpoint near another US base, the former palace of Saddam Hussein, stopping passing cars and searching them.
Residents said they are worried about the worsening situation in their city, which has seen a sharp upsurge of rebel activity in the past several months.
”We see things going from bad to worse every day. All we need is security and peace, but I do not see this happening,” said Abbas Hussein (32), a carpenter. ”I hope there will be a divine miracle so that the situation becomes stable.”
A radical Sunni Muslim group, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, claimed responsibility, saying a suicide bomber had carried out the strike.
Military officials in Iraq said on Wednesday that shrapnel from the explosion included small ball bearings, which are often used in suicide bombings but are not usually part of shrapnel from rockets or mortars.
Election fears
The attack sparked renewed concerns about the ability of US troops and their Iraqi allies to secure elections on January 30. The military said it expects an increase in violence as insurgents try to derail the vote for an assembly that will draft Iraq’s new Constitution.
”Insurgents, who have everything to lose, are desperate to create the perception that elections are not possible,” said General George W Casey, the commander of multinational forces in Iraq. ”We will not allow terrorist violence to stop progress toward elections.”
In the immediate aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s ouster in April 2003, US commanders cited Mosul — with a population of 1,2-million — as a success story. But armed opposition has mounted, especially since last month’s successful US-led operation to retake the insurgent-held town of Fallujah.
Many insurgents apparently moved to Mosul, where guerrillas launched a coordinated surprise attack in November against police stations. The municipal police force, estimated at more than 6 000 officers, disintegrated; despite the success of US troops a few days later in re-establishing control, only part of the police force has returned to work. — Sapa-AP