Baqubah Air Feild (Iraq), May 06: Three US soldiers were injured today when a suspected US cluster bomb exploded inside a major US base in northern Iraq, officers said. The soldiers from the 3-16 artillery battalion of the 4th Infantry Division were walking across a dirt field inside the base when the device exploded around noon (1330 IST), witnesses said. Surgeon Robert Tyler, who was the first doctor at the scene, said one was in critical condition with shrapnel in his eye and head, another was seriously injured in the elbow and the third was lightly wounded in the torso.

All three were immediately evacuated to a combat field hospital about 40 kilometres north of Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province.
"It looked like a cluster bomb because it looked like a little yellow soup can," Tyler said.

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Ordnance specialists later cordoned off the area where several yellow Cannisters could be seen in the dirt only metres from US soldiers' sleeping areas.

Cluster bombs open out after they are dropped, dispersing hundreds of smaller bomblets to cover a wide area.
They are designed to damage infantry formations and "soft" vehicles but typically many of the bomblets do not explode, creating long-term hazards for civilians.

US troops moved into Baqubah late last month and encountered no resistance as they seized this abandoned air field.
Bureau Report