Seven U.S. Soldiers Wounded in Iraq Grenade Attack

Seven U.S. soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack at their base in the Iraqi city of Falluja, where American troops killed at least 15 people during protests this week, the U.S. military said on Thursday. “The attack was an expression of the anger of a few people in the city after what happened,” Captain Alan Vaught said in reference to the U.S. shootings at earlier anti-American demonstrations. The U.S. soldiers injured in the grenade attack late on Wednesday were evacuated from the city 30 miles west of Baghdad. Vaught said their injuries were not life threatening. After the attack, U.S. troops exchanged gunfire with Iraqis but there were no additional injuries. Falluja Mayor Taha Badawi Hamid al-Alwani, who said he was selected by local tribesmen to lead the city after the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9, condemned the grenade attack. “Anybody, whoever he is, American or Iraqi, who resorts to violence is an evil person,” said Alwani, who has been urging community and religious leaders to help defuse tensions. Full Story