U.S. base in Balad comes under mortar attack

SALAH AL-DIN / IraqiNews.com: The U.S. Anaconda base came under “heavy shelling” with mortars but no reports are clear yet about losses or casualties, a security source in Balad district said on Saturday. “The U.S. base Anaconda (formerly al-Bakr) came today (May 29) under violent attack with three mortar shells of 120 mm. caliber. The source of the fire could not be known,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The three shells all landed outside the base,” he added. Balad district lies 70 km south of Tikrit city. Anaconda, which lies in Yathrib district, east of Balad, is one of the most important strategic bases in Iraq as it offers logistical support for the U.S. army. Tikrit, the capital city of the province of Salah al-Din, lies 175 km north of Baghdad. AmR (P) 3