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Dear List, The attack on the premises of the ICRC in Baghdad on October 27 came as shocking news to the Iraqis and the world. It was immediately blamed on Saddam’s loyalists and on foreign elements, as has become the habit of the US occupation forces and their apologists in Iraq and abroad. There seems to be another angle to the matter. On the day of the attack, Al-Jazeera broadcast a news item from its correspondent in Baghdad stating the following: “Al-Jazeera’s correspondent in Baghdad has reported that a huge explosion shook the area housing the Red Cross offices and the Sameri hospital in the centre of Baghdad among expectations of large casualties. According to the correspondent another explosion happened 15 minutes after the first one and ambulances rushed to the explosion site while the Iraqi Police pushed people away from the site. The occupation forces cordoned off the area as US helicopters were seen flying over. The correspondent said that the Sameri hospital is a Jewish hospital which had received several warnings. As regarding what the target was, the correspondent stated that since there are no occupation forces in the area, it seems probable that the Red Cross and the Sameri hospital were the targets of the attack.” News from Baghdad confirm that the Sameri hospital is an Israeli hospital which was established after the occupation at al-Sa’adoon Street. Al-Jazeera was the first channel to report the explosion in its news bulletin at 9 am Baghdad time, but did not repeat it in later bulletins, after its correspondent was arrested by the occupation forces while on his way to cover the explosion at al-Khadhra’a in the west of Baghdad. Baghdadis believe that the real target was the Sameri hospital, but that the suicide attacker either missed the target or couldn’t reach it because of the heavy machine gun fire from the guards in the area. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk