WARSAW, Aug 21 (AFP) - A Polish soldier was killed and six others wounded on Saturday in a car bomb attack near Hilla in southern Iraq, a Polish military spokesman said as quoted by the PAP news agency.
One Iraqi civilian and five others were wounded in an ensuing shoot out with Polish soldiers, medical and police sources said in Hilla.
The parked car exploded as a 19-truck convoy under the protection of Polish troops was driving by, said Colonel Artur Domanski, the spokesman for the multinational force under Polish command.
He confirmed that Polish soldiers shot and killed several attackers after the bombing, which occurred close to midday (0800 GMT).
The Chevrolet car was detonated remotely using a radio system, according to the spokesman. The massive explosion was heard several kilometres (miles) away.
The wounded were evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Karbala and Baghdad, and towards the base at Hilla, he said.
Two Polish soldiers were killed and five wounded in Iraq on Thursday in a car crash as they sought to escape an ambush.
The latest attack takes to 14 the number of Poles killed in Iraq since the start of the US-led war -- 10 were soldiers and four were civilians.
US ally Poland heads a multinational force of 6,500 administering a swathe of Iraq south of Baghdad. Poland hopes to reduce the number of troops it has in the country from 2,500 to 1,500 soldiers in early 2005.
Earlier this month, Polish forces handed over control to US troops of two of the five provinces they administered in Iraq, including the province of Najaf, which has been the scene of heavy fighting.
Polish public opinion remains overwhelmingly opposed to Poland`s participation in the US-led forces occupying Iraq.