'Not the usual guerrilla attack'

International | Embassy bombing is a sobering sign of new tactics against coalition forces | Mindy Belz

IT WASN'T SHOCK AND AWE, BUT the bombing of Jordan's embassy in Baghdad had plenty of firepower for residents of the city's once-wealthy Mansour district.

The Aug. 7 blast destroyed one wall of the embassy and sent nearby vehicles flying through the air. Remains of one car flew onto the roof of a nearby building. When it was over, several bodies could be seen still sitting in some of the vehicles damaged by the explosion. By last week investigators could confirm 19 dead and more than 50 injured.

Although no Americans were killed or wounded, the attack signaled U.S. forces that a new chapter of fighting in postwar Iraq is underway. "This was not the usual guerrilla attack we have been seeing in Iraq, which makes it look like something different, perhaps a new threat," said Jonathan Schanzer, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who specializes in radical Islamic movements.