A Baghdad office of Iraq's ruling Baath Party was hit by an air strike on Friday, killing eight people including several civilians, witnesses said.
Residents said the blast in Baghdad's Mansour district occurred at around noon, demolishing the party's neighbourhood office and several nearby houses. Local residents said they had pulled eight bodies from the wreckage, including Baath Party militia members and several civilians.
Earlier, Iraq said it had captured at least three alleged spies who helped the U.S.-led invasion of the country by identifying targets and assessing damage from bombardment.
State television showed three Iraqi men described as U.S. spies. The men told a television interviewer they were paid by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to identify targets for U.S. planes and missiles and scout locations where raids had already occurred.
The television showed equipment it said was found with the men, including Global Positioning System devices and satellite telephones.
One man said he had met a CIA officer named Mike at an undisclosed location. "Mike came to the meetings in shorts and did not even bother to say hello to us. We did it for the money," the man said.
Meanwhile, Iraqi anti-aircraft gunners shot down a US drone over a residential neighborhood in Baghdad. The pilotless reconnaissance plane was seen falling on the rooftop of a small house in the Jihad neighborhood in the southwestern sector of the capital, witnesses told AFP on Friday. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
