Series of blasts shake Iraqi capital
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-05 17:40

Several explosions echoed across Baghdad on Friday, hours before the Iraqi Governing Council was due to sign a transitional constitution.

A loud blast reverberated through the city centre at around 11.30 a.m. (0830 GMT), rattling windows across the river from the main US headquarters. There were no further details.

Earlier, a US military spokesman said there had been six or seven blasts at Baghdad international airport southwest of the city, where there is a major US base, between 10" US bases across the country regularly come under fire from mortars and grenades.

Police in the Ameriyah district in the west of the capital said a roadside bomb had detonated at around 9.30 a.m. (0630 GMT), leaving a crater in the street but causing no casualties.

The council had delayed the signing for two days out of respect for at least 181 people killed in a series of attacks on Tuesday.

Three people were killed in the capital on Thursday in a rocket attack. There are frequent explosions in Baghdad, some caused by roadside bombs planted by insurgents, others controlled by US troops destroying ordnance.

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