20 Coalition Casualties in Iraq Blasts

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi insurgents launched several attacks in the southern city of Karbala on Saturday, and there were 20 coalition casualties, a military spokesman said. Two coalition troops were reported killed.

The attackers struck with a car bomb, mortars and machine guns in separate places in Karbala, said U.S. Maj. Ralph Manos, a spokesman for the Polish-led multinational force responsible for security in the area.

"There were different types of attacks at different places," he said. The attackers targeted two military coalition camps at the city's university and at a police station, as well as the mayor's office.

Col. Mariusz Michalski, another coalition spokesman, told the Polish news agency PAP that two coalition soldiers were killed at one of the attacks at a Bulgarian base.

Manos said there were 20 casualties but didn't have any details about how severe they were. He did not know the nationalities of those who were hurt; soldiers from a number of countries, including Bulgaria, Poland, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States operate in the area.

Witnesses said smoke and fire rose from the mayor's office after a mortar attack. They reported a car bomb at the university.

Karbala is a holy Shiite city south of Baghdad. Saddam Hussein, who was captured by U.S. forces on Dec. 13, conducted a bloody crackdown on residents of Karbala and other Shiite areas in 1991.