ugnet_: A BLAST KILLS U S SOLDIER IN IRAQ

[Mulindwa Edward]

Blast Kills U.S. Soldier, Hurts 2 in Iraq 16 minutes ago By BORZOU DARAGAHI, Associated Press Writer ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - A U.S. soldier was killed and two others were wounded Wednesday when a powerful explosion went off as their convoy made its way along a highway west of Baghdad, soldiers at the scene said. The explosion occurred at about 9 a.m. as a 20-vehicle military convoy was passing a wrecked car that had been abandoned alongside the road, Spc. Jose Colon told The Associated Press. The soldier that died was blown out of a truck that was nearest to the blast, Colon said. Soldiers believe a bomb was hidden in the car wreckage. "We were just driving along when the explosion hit," Colon said. "It was very big." Soldiers said the victim had recently arrived in Iraq (news - web sites). "We just lost one of our buddies. It could have been any of us," said Spc. Adalberto Bonilla, who along with Colon had been in a vehicle behind the most badly damaged truck when the blast went off near Abu Ghraib. Both he and Colon were unharmed. Spc. Carlos McKenzie said the supply convoy, which was on its way to a U.S. base in the desert near Iraq's border with Jordan, did not have enough protection from more heavily armed units. "We need more protection. We've seen enough. We've stayed in Iraq long enough," he said. About a half hour after the attack, the truck that absorbed the brunt of the blast's force was still burning. U.S. soldiers sealed off the road. Abu Ghraib, home to what was once Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s most notorious prison, lies just west of the capital. A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said he had no information about the incident. U.S. soldiers have come under increasingly ferocious attacks in recent weeks. The soldier is the 33rd to die in hostile action since President Bush (news - web sites) declared an end to major hostility on May 1. Also Wednesday, a U.S. Marine died in the southern city of Hilla when he fell off a building he was guarding. The soldier was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries.             The Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"             Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"