FUEL TRUCK EXPLODES NEAR BAGHDAD AIRPORT

A large fuel truck exploded outside an entrance to Baghdad International Airport (ORBI/BGW) on 4 October 2009. Unconfirmed reports stated that the explosion was the result of an accident after a truck driver allegedly used an open-pit fire to cook some food near the tanker, while other sources stated that the explosion was the result of a small bomb that had been hidden inside one of the tanker trucks. Airport officials confirmed that the explosion took place along a road just outside the main airport grounds and that the flames had also ignited other tanker trucks parked nearby. Iraqi government authorities claim that the truck was part of a convoy carrying fuel to Camp Victory, a U.S. military headquarters adjacent to the airport grounds. U.S. military commanders have made no comment on the incident. The incident prompted officials to suspend flight operations as well as vehicle traffic at the airport for approximately one hour.