Leave Iraq "before you drown in its swamp". Militants mortar Polish bases in Iraq Masked gunmen read a statement at an unknown location in this image taken from a video grab obtained by Reuters Television on October 14, 2007. Two Shi'ite militant groups have claimed responsibility for deadly bomb attacks on Polish targets in Iraq, saying they were in response to the alleged torture of Iraqi detainees by troops from Poland. In the video, the hitherto-unknown Imam Hussein Brigades and Imam Moussa al-Kadhim Brigades said Poland, part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, had allied with the "devil" America to kill Iraqis. REUTERS/REUTERS TV 15 Oct 2007 12:59:10 GMTSource: ReutersMore By Aseel KamiBAGHDAD, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gunmen launched simultaneous mortar and machinegun attacks on two mainly Polish military bases in southern Iraq on Monday, after Shi'ite militants vowed to step up pressure on Polish soldiers to force them out.An official at a hospital in Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, said two children under the age of 10 had been killed in the mortar attack and three -- a 15-year-old and two 17-year-olds -- had been shot dead.On Sunday Reuters obtained a copy of a video in which two previously unknown Shi'ite groups claimed responsibility for recent attacks on Poland's ambassador and its embassy and warned Polish troops to leave Iraq "before you drown in its swamp".About 900 Polish troops, part of the U.S.-led multinational forces in Iraq, are based in Qadisiya province to support the 8th Iraqi Army division and train Iraqi soldiers and police.In Monday's attack, gunmen fired mortars and machineguns at a base manned by Polish and Iraqi soldiers in Iskan, a southwestern neighbourhood of Diwaniya, the provincial capital, killing four civilians and wounding 17, Polish military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Wlodek Glogowski told Reuters.Glogowski had no details of the casualties but said they were hit by the attacking militants, not when troops returned fire. Three gunmen had also been killed, he said.It was not clear how the children became victims of the attack, but there are many homes near the base.Reuters Television pictures showed a column of brown smoke rising from Iskan, where the base sits amid one-storey houses, while the rattle of sustained machinegun fire could be heard nearby. STAUNCH U.S. ALLYGlogowski said there was also a mortar attack on Camp Echo, which is just south of Diwaniya and houses U.S. and other multinational forces and is under Polish command, but there were no casualties.In the video obtained by Reuters Television on Sunday, the Imam Hussein Brigades and Imam Moussa al-Kadhim Brigades said Poland had allied with the "devil" America to kill Iraqis and accused Polish troops of torturing detainees."We want to tell Poland that all its interests in Iraq will be targeted by our resistance, including the diplomats, companies and troops. We only exclude journalists," said one of four masked gunmen who appeared in the video.Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kacynski has vowed to keep Polish troops in southern Iraq despite the attack on the ambassador earlier this month.The ambassador, General Edward Pietrzyk, was wounded in a triple bomb attack on his diplomatic convoy in Baghdad in which one Polish secret service officer and a passerby were killed.Five days later a car bomb killed two people near Poland's Baghdad embassy. There were no casualties among staff or damage to the building.Diwaniya is in the largely stable Shi'ite south, which has escaped much of the sectarian violence that has ravaged the rest of the country. But there has been an upsurge in infighting between rival Shi'ite groups vying for political dominance. (Additional reporting by Ross Colvin in Baghdad)

Militants mortar Polish bases in Iraq
Masked gunmen read a statement at an unknown location in this image taken from a video grab obtained by Reuters Television on October 14, 2007. Two Shi'ite militant groups have claimed responsibility for deadly bomb attacks on Polish targets in Iraq, saying they were in response to the alleged torture of Iraqi detainees by troops from Poland. In the video, the hitherto-unknown Imam Hussein Brigades and Imam Moussa al-Kadhim Brigades said Poland, part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, had allied with the "devil" America to kill Iraqis.
REUTERS/REUTERS TV
15 Oct 2007 12:59:10 GMT
Source: Reuters

More By Aseel Kami

BAGHDAD, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gunmen launched simultaneous mortar and machinegun attacks on two mainly Polish military bases in southern Iraq on Monday, after Shi'ite militants vowed to step up pressure on Polish soldiers to force them out.

An official at a hospital in Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, said two children under the age of 10 had been killed in the mortar attack and three -- a 15-year-old and two 17-year-olds -- had been shot dead.

On Sunday Reuters obtained a copy of a video in which two previously unknown Shi'ite groups claimed responsibility for recent attacks on Poland's ambassador and its embassy and warned Polish troops to leave Iraq "before you drown in its swamp".

About 900 Polish troops, part of the U.S.-led multinational forces in Iraq, are based in Qadisiya province to support the 8th Iraqi Army division and train Iraqi soldiers and police.

In Monday's attack, gunmen fired mortars and machineguns at a base manned by Polish and Iraqi soldiers in Iskan, a southwestern neighbourhood of Diwaniya, the provincial capital, killing four civilians and wounding 17, Polish military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Wlodek Glogowski told Reuters.

Glogowski had no details of the casualties but said they were hit by the attacking militants, not when troops returned fire. Three gunmen had also been killed, he said.

It was not clear how the children became victims of the attack, but there are many homes near the base.

Reuters Television pictures showed a column of brown smoke rising from Iskan, where the base sits amid one-storey houses, while the rattle of sustained machinegun fire could be heard nearby.

STAUNCH U.S. ALLY

Glogowski said there was also a mortar attack on Camp Echo, which is just south of Diwaniya and houses U.S. and other multinational forces and is under Polish command, but there were no casualties.

In the video obtained by Reuters Television on Sunday, the Imam Hussein Brigades and Imam Moussa al-Kadhim Brigades said Poland had allied with the "devil" America to kill Iraqis and accused Polish troops of torturing detainees.

"We want to tell Poland that all its interests in Iraq will be targeted by our resistance, including the diplomats, companies and troops. We only exclude journalists," said one of four masked gunmen who appeared in the video.

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kacynski has vowed to keep Polish troops in southern Iraq despite the attack on the ambassador earlier this month.

The ambassador, General Edward Pietrzyk, was wounded in a triple bomb attack on his diplomatic convoy in Baghdad in which one Polish secret service officer and a passerby were killed.

Five days later a car bomb killed two people near Poland's Baghdad embassy. There were no casualties among staff or damage to the building.

Diwaniya is in the largely stable Shi'ite south, which has escaped much of the sectarian violence that has ravaged the rest of the country. But there has been an upsurge in infighting between rival Shi'ite groups vying for political dominance. (Additional reporting by Ross Colvin in Baghdad)