Six die as Baghdad weapons dump is blown up

At least six people were killed and many more injured yesterday in Baghdad after an ammunition dump guarded by American troops erupted in a series of huge explosions, setting off around 80 missiles which flew into the air and destroyed homes in the neighbourhood.

The US soldiers said they had come under fire from unidentified gunmen, who fired at least four incendiary devices into the camp, triggering a series of explosions.

But furious local people immediately questioned this explanation, claiming that US troops had been detonating Iraqi ordnance at the camp for weeks, despite repeated requests to move it to a non-populated area. They said that 40 people, including three babies, had been killed, though this appeared to be an exaggeration.

"We have been saying to them, please do not do this. It's only 500 metres away from our homes," said Sami Sabah, as he sat outside the remains of his brother's destroyed home in the working-class Zafaraniyah area of southern Baghdad.

"The Americans did this. They stopped blowing up the ammunition four days ago and then they started again today," said Mr Sabah.

Mr Sabah said that six of his brother's family had been killed and the other four injured. They were in a critical condition at a local hospital, he said. His eyes were red and his shirt was covered with blood. He looked stunned and bewildered.

Behind him an elderly woman dressed in black – a grandmother of the family – was stumbling through the destroyed house, the roof of which hung precariously above her. She kept wailing, crying out for her daughter, saying she could not believe she had been killed. When she was told it was not safe for her to be inside she said she no longer cared for her own well-being.

The missiles that had come down in this part of the neighbourhood had destroyed five homes in all. One had dug a large hole in the road, which rapidly filled with water. The air stank of sewage after pipes were ruptured by the impact of the rockets.

The main road outside the still-smouldering ammunition base was littered with huge pieces of shrapnel and other ammunition. Some of it was the size of a man's leg. There were tank rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and huge pieces of torn metal lying on the road for more than a mile. Those injured were taken to the Zafaraniyah Hospital, where angry crowds were denouncing the American forces.

The bodies of six victims were placed in coffins and loaded on to the back of trucks. Local people said they were being driven into the centre of Baghdad to be displayed before US forces. American troops said they did their best to help in rescue efforts, but were forced to pull back when they came under fire from angry residents.

The explosions started at around 8am local time and could be heard many miles away in the centre of Baghdad, where the blasts shook the windows of buildings.

In Zafaraniyah, Malik Ali, a doctor, had been having breakfast at the home of his brother – next door to the home in which six people were killed – when he heard the blasts.

"We saw rockets fire into the sky. It was as if they were making circles," he said. Half an hour later he heard a tremendous noise and felt a huge wave of pressure.

He and his family rushed out in the street. "There were pieces of metal falling on us. There was black smoke all over the place. I could hear the man next door crying out to his wife to get out. She was one of those who died."

US forces denied that they had been detonating the ammunition at the camp, which they took over when Iraqi troops were forced out. They have been using it to store ammunition collected from other parts of Baghdad, and were intending to destroy it.

Colonel John Peabody of the US 3rd Infantry Division said that since the army took control of the base from the US Marines, there had been no more ammunition exploded.

Up to 10 people had attacked the base with automatic weapons early yesterday morning and had fired incendiary devices, which had started the series of explosions, said Col Peabody. One soldier was injured.

"It's clear that whoever did this was someone who knew what he was doing – causing injuries to innocent civilians," said Col Peabody.

The colonel said that the Iraqi forces had established the base and that none of the ammunition kept there had been American. He said it had been considered too dangerous too move.