The deadliest attack on American forces in Iraq was probably the work of a suicide bomber who evaded security at the US military base in Mosul, Washington's top general has said.
"It looks like it was an improvised explosive device worn by an attacker," General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Washington.
His comments ended 36 hours of confusion over what killed 18 Americans and four others in a mess tent at the Marez base at lunchtime on Tuesday.
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Casualty details referred to an unidentified non-American civilian among the dead. Fourteen of those killed were US soldiers, four were American civilians and three were Iraqi National Guards. Another 69 people were wounded.
The blast site was peppered with what appeared to be ball bearings, a US military spokesman in Mosul said.
A US military statement said no evidence was found of a mortar attack, a more common cause of damage on US bases.
The admission, which gave credibility to a claim made by the Ansar al-Sunna militant group, has serious implications for US forces as they try to secure an election at the end of January.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is being criticised for failing to do enough to protect troops in the field, added: "Looking for a peaceful Iraq after the elections [on January 30th] would be a mistake.
"We have had a suicide bomber apparently strap something to his body, apparently a 'him', and go into a dining hall. We know how difficult this is to prevent," he said.
A major US contractor has pulled out of the country, saying it was too dangerous, walking away from a $325 million contract to work on Iraq's damaged transport links.