-Men inspect cars destroyed in a car bomb explosion near the Finance Ministry in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. A series of deadly explosions targeting government and commercial buildings struck Baghdad Wednesday, killing scores of people and wounding many more Iraqi police and medical officials said-
-Smoke billows near the Iraqi Foreign Ministry after a massive bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. A series of explosions struck the Iraqi capital Wednesday, targeting primarily government and commercial buildings, killing dozens of people and wounding many more Iraqi officials said-
-An Iraqi soldier is seen near the wreckage of a car bomb explosion near the Finance Ministry in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. A series of deadly explosions targeting government and commercial buildings struck Baghdad Wednesday, killing scores of people and wounding many more Iraqi police and medical officials said=
-Layla Mohammed is treated for head wounds after a massive bomb attack on the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. A series of deadly explosions targeting government and commercial buildings struck Baghdad Wednesday, killing dozens and wounding more than 300, Iraqi police and medical officials said.-
-Iraqi policemen inspect cars destroyed in a car bomb explosion near the Finance Ministry in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. A series of deadly explosions targeting government and commercial buildings struck Baghdad Wednesday, killing scores of people and wounding many more Iraqi police and medical officials said-
-Iraqi policemen and civilians stand in wreckage after a car bomb explosion near the Finance Ministry in northern Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. A series of deadly explosions targeting government and commercial buildings struck Baghdad Wednesday, killing scores of people and wounding many more Iraqi police and medical officials said.-
At least two people have been killed in a bicycle bombing in Baghdad, a day after a series of bombings left 101 people dead and 500 more wounded in the Iraqi capital.
Police and medical officials said at least 10 people were injured in Thursday's bombing, when an explosive attached to a bicycle went off in a market near the commercial Al-Rasheed street.
More than 500 people also were wounded when nearly simultaneous truck bombs struck Iraq's Foreign and Finance ministries on Wednesday — the deadliest day of coordinated bombings in more than a year.Iraq's prime minister has ordered a security review after the deadliest series of attacks in the country this year left 95 people dead in Baghdad.
Nouri Maliki called Wednesday's bombings "a desperate attempt to derail the political process" in Iraq.
Mr Maliki blamed the latest strikes on al-Qaida in Iraq and loyalists of the late president, Saddam Hussein, who was toppled after US-led forces invaded in 2003.
They included two truck bombings close to government ministries located in a part of the capital which has generally not been targeted in recent months.
He said Iraqi security forces were "very capable of confronting terrorists", but acknowledged that a security review was necessary.
"The criminal operations that happened today no doubt call for a re-evaluation of our plans and our security methods to face the terrorist challenges," he said in a statement.
The prime minister also said insurgents had taken advantage of government efforts to restore normalcy by removing concrete blast walls from main roads in Baghdad.
"These attacks represent a reaction to the opening of streets and bridges and the lifting of barriers inside the residential areas," he said.
An Iraqi army spokesman said two al-Qaeda members had been arrested in Baghdad in connection with the attacks.
There have so far been no claims of responsibility for the bombings.
Where are the explosion ?
The biggest explosion on Wednesday happened close to the foreign ministry, just outside the high-security Green Zone.
It was powerful enough to break windows at the parliament building inside the zone, which houses government and diplomatic buildings.
It also left a crater 3m (10ft) deep and 10m (33ft) in diameter, with the smouldering wreckage of cars scattered around the site of the explosion.
Minutes earlier, there had been another blast close to the finance ministry in another hitherto relatively safe area of the city.
At least four other explosions went off in other parts of Baghdad, including the southern district of Bayaa. Several mortars also fell inside the Green Zone itself.
An interior ministry official said more than 560 people had been injured in the attacks, which appeared to have been co-ordinated.
Attacks resumed on Thursday when the explosives-laden bicycle struck a restaurant shortly before 8 a.m. in downtown Baghdad, killing at least two people and wounding 18, according to al-Moussawi's office.
-----------------------
0 comments:
Post a Comment