12 Oct 2004

Three Fijian security guards injured in Iraq

7:40 am on 12 October 2004

Three Fijian security guards on private deployment in Iraq have been wounded in an insurgent attack.

The men were in a group of six vehicles travelling in a convoy near Mosul to attend Fiji Day celebrations yesterday when a home-made bomb exploded on the road.

The Fiji representative of Global Risk Strategies, the company which employs the Fijians, says two of the wounded have been treated in hospital and released.

But Col Sakiusa Raivoce says the third, Apenisa Tikoilondoni, suffered serious head injuries and a decision on whether he will be evacuated to Germany will be made soon.

Meanwhile, the Fiji military spokesman, Captain Neumi Leweni, says an advance team from the regular army will leave for Iraq tomorrow to prepare the way for the deployment of 155 soldiers on United Nations security duties.