Two Iraqis were killed and another hurt when a bomb they intended to use against American soldiers exploded earlier than planned, a US military official said today.
The incident took place as US forces were patrolling Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Russell said one of the dead was a nephew of one of Saddam's brothers.
Lieutenant-Colonel Russell said the Iraqis, in a white Mercedes, were about to put the bomb in front of his troops' convoy when the car blew up.
"The Mercedes exploded not 150 metres (490 feet) north of us," Lieutenant-Colonel Russell said. "No soldiers nor any Iraqi civilians beyond the attackers were harmed."
The one passenger who survived was detained.
Russell said the car matched the description of a vehicle implicated in several similar attacks, including a December 16 explosion that wounded three soldiers.
In another incident a man in a Tikrit shop blew his leg off apparently while handling explosives.
