Scores Killed in Iraq Car Bombing in Baghdad

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Two suicide bombings exploded near the justice ministry and the offices
of Baghdad's governor

Two car bombs in central Baghdad have killed more than 130 people and
wounded more than 550 others, police sources have told Al Jazeera.

The blasts went off less than a minute apart on Sunday, near the
ministry of justice and the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial
administration close to the Tigris river.

The street near the provincial government building was flooded with
water and firefighters pulled charred and mangled bodies off the
streets. Burnt-out cars were piled up nearby.

There were so many wounded that civilian cars were pressed into service
to bring the casualties to area hospitals.

"The walls collapsed and we had to run out," Yasmeen Afdhal, an employee
of the Baghdad provincial administration, targeted by one of the bombs,
said.

"There are many wounded, and I saw them being taken away. They were
pulling victims out of the rubble, and rushing them to ambulances."

Political attack

Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman, said he suspected al-Qaeda or
remnants of Iraq's former government were behind the attacks.

"The initial analysis shows that it bears the fingerprints of al-Qaeda
and the Baathists," he said.

Al-Dabbagh said he was in the nearby al-Mansour hotel when the bombs
went off and he and others around him were showered in glass.

The timing of the attack has raised suspicion because Iraq's political
leaders were set to meet later today to resolve a dispute which could
lead to a delay in elections scheduled for January.

Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, said that if there was a delay
"the government ... and parliament will lose its legitimacy, that there
would be a return to sectarianism".

With the bombings, the bloodiest attack in the Iraqi capital for months,
it was unclear if the political rivals would risk convening.

Al-Maliki has also accused al-Qaeda and former Baath party members of
being behind the attack.

Bombings condemned

Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, condemned the attack, as did other
world powers.

"The presidency of the European Union condemns today's car bombs in
Baghdad," said a statement issued by Sweden, which currently holds the
EU's rotating presidency.

"The presidency conveys its condolences to the families of the victims
of this terrorist attack," it said.

In August, blasts near government ministries killed almost 100 people
and wounded hundreds in Iraq's bloodiest day this year.

Violence has fallen in Iraq since US-backed tribal sheikhs helped wrest
control from al-Qaeda fighters and Washington sent extra troops, but
attacks are still common across Iraq.

Many Iraqi officials have warned that ahead of the planned elections,
violence by groups intent on making the country appear unstable could
rise.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies


Baghdad car bombs near government offices kill 106

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, By Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi hospital and security officials say at least 106
people have been killed in what is Iraq's worst bombing of the year.

The powerful blasts went off less than a minute apart Sunday in parking
lots near the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration and
the Ministry of Justice building.

Officials said there were so many wounded that even civilian cars were
used to bring the wounded to hospitals across the capital.

The hospital and security officials spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to speak to the media.


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Two powerful car bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad
Sunday, killing at least 92 people in a powerful blow to the heart of
the fragile city's government, Iraqi medical officials and authorities
said.

While violence has dropped dramatically in the country since the height
of the sectarian tensions, such bombings like Sunday's demonstrate the
precarious nature of the security gains and the insurgency's abilities
to still pull off devastating attacks in the center of what is supposed
to be one of Baghdad's most secure areas.

Black smoke could be seen billowing from the frantic scene, as emergency
service vehicles sped to the area. Even civilian cars were being
commandeered to transport the wounded to hospitals.

"The walls collapsed and we had to run out," said Yasmeen Afdhal, 24, an
employee of the Baghdad provincial administration, which was targeted by
one of the car bombs. "There are many wounded, and I saw them being
taken away. They were pulling victims out of the rubble, and rushing
them to ambulances."

The car bombs, which also targeted the nearby Justice Ministry, come as
Iraq is preparing for elections scheduled this January, and many Iraqi
officials have warned that violence by insurgents intent on making the
country appear unstable could rise.

The explosive-laden vehicles were sitting in parking garages next to the
two government building, police said.

"They are targeting the government and the political process in the
country," Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, spokesman for the city's
operations command center, told The Associated Press.

The blasts, which rivaled coordinated attacks against two government
ministries in August that killed more than 100 people, also appeared to
be a blow to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who has staked his
reputation and re-election hopes on returning security to the country.

Al-Maliki toured the blast sites later in the day.

The area is just a few hundred yards from the heavily protected Green
Zone that houses the U.S. Embassy as well as the prime minister's
offices. The street where the blasts occurred was just reopened to
vehicle traffic a few months ago, in what was supposed to be a sign that
safety was returning to the once devastated city.

"This is a political struggle, the price of which we are paying," said a
Shiite member of the Baghdad Provincial Council, Mohammed al-Rubaiey. He
said at least 25 members of the council's staff were killed in and that
the wounded were still being taken to the hospital. "Every politician is
responsible and even the government is responsible, as well as security
leaders."

Sunday's explosions also injured at least 350 people who were taken to
six area hospitals. Medical officials, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, gave
the death toll.

Video images captured on a cell phone showed the second blast going off
in a massive ball of flames, followed by a burst of machine gun fire.

Three American security contractors, working for the U.S. embassy in
Baghdad were injured in the blasts, but no American embassy personnel
were killed, said Philip Frayne, an embassy spokesman. Frayne could not
immediately provide details about who the contractors were escorting to
the site, which company they worked for or, or the nature of their
injuries.

The explosions were just a few hundred yards from Iraq's Foreign
Ministry which is still rebuilding after massive bombings there in
August killed about 100 people. The bombings were a devastating blow for
a country that has seen a dramatic drop in violence since the height of
the sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007.