Attempted truck bomb attack foiled in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A truck thought to have been laden with nitric acid and explosives overturned in an attempted attack on a joint security station operated by U.S. and Iraqi troops north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

The military had said the truck, which overturned before it reached the security station, was carrying eight containers of nitric acid but a later statement said the containers were found to be carrying fuel.

"The containers were consistent with those normally used to transport nitric acid, but upon examination, they were found to be filled with gasoline," the second military statement said.

Insurgents have been shifting tactics and in recent months have rigged nearly a dozen truck bombs with chlorine gas, mainly in western Anbar province.

The U.S. military said a security patrol went to assist the driver of the truck after it overturned on Monday and found the eight containers and explosives.

It said the driver confessed he had been paid to attack the joint security station in Mushada, which also houses the town's police station, north of Baghdad.