Four American civilians were killed by a roadside bomb in the Iraqi city of Basra on Wednesday according to American sources. The four men worked as security guards on a contract basis in Iraq. A convoy of contractors was hit by a roadside bomb according to the U.S. Embassy which resulted in the four deaths and an undetermined number of injuries.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Peter Mitchell explained in a statement that, 'All four individuals worked for a private security firm supporting the regional U.S. Embassy office in Basra.'
According to Mitchell, three of the Americans were killed instantly and the fourth died after being rushed to a military hospital in Basra by British troops.
An estimated 20,000 U.S. civilians are said to be working as contractors for American firms in Iraq at this time. More than 200 have been killed there since the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq began in March 2003.
The bombing comes just one day after Iraqi government officials announced that ex-dictator Saddam Hussein's trial would begin on October 19.
Yesterday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Saddam Hussein has confessed to ordering killings and other crimes committed during his regime and 'deserves to be executed 20 times a day for his crimes against humanity.'
A legal spokesman for Hussein's family, Abdel Haq Alani, accused Talabani of trying to prejudice the trial.
