Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Al qeada suicida bom kill 127 in Baghdad.Trio of boms

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Hope: Security forces and rescuers search for survivors in the aftermath of the blast at the Finance Ministry
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Horror: Iraqi security forces gather at the site of a blast near the Labour Ministry building in Baghdad
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Devastation: Security personnel gather by a crater caused by one of the bombings free image host
Tears: An Iraqi woman weeps at the sight of the carnage wreaked by the bombs free image host
Blast: Smoke billows across the Iraqi capital following the series of explosions
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Gory: Blood stains a car at the scene of a blast in Cairo Street, northern Baghdad

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A man gestures at the wreckage of a car near the site of the blast outside the Labour Ministry building
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Effort: A body is evacuated from the blast site near the Finance Ministry
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Walking wounded: A soldier hurries a casualty out of danger following the blast at a Baghdad courthouse

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A map showing the sites of the bomb attacks


At least 127 people were killed and more than 400 wounded yesterday in a series of co-ordinated car and suicide bombings in Baghdad.

Officials blamed the blasts - which targeted government buildings in the Iraqi capital - on Al Qaeda and said they were an attempt to undermine the auction of oilfield contracts this weekend.

The explosions came despite a security crackdown and underlined fears of renewed insurgency ahead of Iraqi national elections in March.

Former national security adviser Mowaffaq Al Rubaie said: 'Al Qaeda has been active in Baghdad recently.

'Their aim is to show the government is unable to protect civilians and deter the people from going to the ballot box.'

The first attack, at 10am local time (7am GMT), killed three policemen and a civilian in Dora in southern Baghdad.
An hour later further blasts hit the Labour Ministry building, a court complex near the Iraqi-protected Green Zone and the new site of the Finance Ministry - after its previous building was destroyed by a suicide attack in August.

Another explosion tore through a nearby market and toppled at least one building. Rescue teams used cranes to pull away rubble in the search for survivors.

One who escaped, Ahmed Jabbar, cried: 'What crime have we committed? Children and women were buried under debris.'

Iraq's oil ministry said it would not cancel its tender of oilfield development contracts, due to be attended by the world's main oil companies.

The deals are seen as crucial to the country's efforts to raise the cash to rebuild after years of war and destruction.

Gordon Brown yesterday led international condemnation of the attacks.

Iraq's military spokesman blamed the carnage on an alliance of Al Qaeda in Iraq and members of Saddam Hussein's banned Baath Party.

The U.S. military has sent some troops and forensic equipment to assist the Iraqis in the aftermath, said Army Master Sgt. Nicholas Conner, a military spokesman.

A Kurdish parliament member, Mohammed Shareef Ahmed, was among several lawmakers demanding a full-scale inquiry.


The parliament today is so angry toward the security services which we feel have failed to prevent these attacks ... We all feel - and all the world feels - that the Iraqi people are fed up of sufferings and something should be done to stop this,' he said.

The blasts are an embarrassment to Iraqi forces in their expanding role as front-line security as U.S. forces plan their withdrawal.

They came just before Iraqi officials today confirmed March 6 as the date for next year's parliamentary elections, and not February 27, as had been widely expected.

Overall violence has dropped sharply around Iraq in the past year, but insurgents have stepped up attacks at government sites.

Iraqi officials blamed the October attacks on loyalists to the banned Baathist Party - even bringing out three suspects on national television who gave what officials termed confessions.

But there are questions whether Iraqi leaders seek to shift attention away from a possible resurgence of Sunni insurgents led by Al Qaeda in Iraq.

A rise in insurgent power could be a serious blow to the government's credibility before national elections.


Security forces are concerned the announcement could bring a further escalation in attacks seeking to discredit the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

On Monday, eight people were killed when a bomb exploded a school in Baghdad. Among the dead were six children.

A further five people were killed on the same day when gunmen stormed a checkpoint near Tarmiyah.

The bombings marked the most serious spate of violence in Baghdad since twin car bombs on October 25 struck outside Baghdad administration offices, killing at least 155 people.

The breakdown of casualties among the sites was not immediately clear, but the most serious bloodshed had been reported outside the new Finance Ministry building.

In August, suicide bombers hit the finance and foreign ministries, killing more than 100 peop


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