2 Utah soldiers injured in Iraqi factory blast

Two Utah soldiers were injured in the attack Thursday at a converted glass factory in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, according to Maj. Hank McIntire, spokesman for the Utah National Guard.

Spc. Rick McClary of St. George and Spc. Braxton McCoy of Scipio, Millard County, were part of an Iraqi screening and selection team near Ramadi Glass and Ceramic Works, when a suicide bomber attacked the facility. The bomber and an estimated 30 Iraqi male recruits were killed, and several U.S. military personnel, including McClary and McCoy of the Utah-based Task Force 22nd Field Artillery, were wounded.

McIntire said both soldiers were wearing protective gear, but McClary sustained shrapnel wounds, and McCoy suffered broken legs. Both were taken to local military medical facilities and were listed in serious but stable condition. One of the soldiers was transferred to Germany for further treatment, and the other will soon follow, McIntire said.

The Iraqi minister of the Interior, who governs the Iraqi police, has been using the factory to process applicants for entry into a police academy in Baghdad. The four-day recruitment drive began Jan. 2 with a goal of producing 200 qualified applicants.