Friday, March 30, 2007
Multiple suicide bombings kill 130
Security
(Gulf News) - Suicide bombers killed nearly 130 people and wounding more than 150 in a crowded market in a Shiite district of Baghdad and a mainly Shiite town on Thursday. Five suicide bombers struck Shiite marketplaces in northeast Baghdad and a town north of the capital at nightfall Thursday in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years.
The upsurge in sectarian violence threatens all-out civil war and Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, a Shiite, called for restraint and urged Iraqis to work with security forces to prevent the violence spiraling out of control. Bombs earlier this week in northern Iraq sparked mass reprisal killings.
Two suicide bombers wearing vests packed with explosives killed 76 people in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, police and medical sources said, in what appeared to be the latest of a string of attacks on Shi'ite districts and towns blamed on Al Qaida. More than 100 were wounded. Most of the victims were women and children, who had been out shopping in the crowded market before the start of the nightly curfew, he said.
At about the same time, three suicide car bombs exploded within minutes of each other in Khalis, 80 km north of Baghdad, killing 53 people and wounding 103, police said. There has been a spike in bloodshed, particularly outside the Iraqi capital, in recent days. Violence between majority Shiites and minority Sunnis has killed tens of thousands in the past year. Iraq's Sunni vice-president urged the Shiite-led government to do more to purge the security forces of militias.
In Khalis, one car bomb exploded in a commercial area and a second at a police checkpoint leading to the police headquarters and court building, police said. A third bomber attacked police patrols rushing to the scene.
The upsurge in sectarian violence threatens all-out civil war and Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, a Shiite, called for restraint and urged Iraqis to work with security forces to prevent the violence spiraling out of control. Bombs earlier this week in northern Iraq sparked mass reprisal killings.
Two suicide bombers wearing vests packed with explosives killed 76 people in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, police and medical sources said, in what appeared to be the latest of a string of attacks on Shi'ite districts and towns blamed on Al Qaida. More than 100 were wounded. Most of the victims were women and children, who had been out shopping in the crowded market before the start of the nightly curfew, he said.
At about the same time, three suicide car bombs exploded within minutes of each other in Khalis, 80 km north of Baghdad, killing 53 people and wounding 103, police said. There has been a spike in bloodshed, particularly outside the Iraqi capital, in recent days. Violence between majority Shiites and minority Sunnis has killed tens of thousands in the past year. Iraq's Sunni vice-president urged the Shiite-led government to do more to purge the security forces of militias.
In Khalis, one car bomb exploded in a commercial area and a second at a police checkpoint leading to the police headquarters and court building, police said. A third bomber attacked police patrols rushing to the scene.
Labels: Khalis, markets, Shaab district, suicide bomber
