Blast kills at least 33 in Iraq
Source: Agencies |
November 7, 2012, Wednesday
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A suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives detonated the vehicle near an Iraqi military base as soldiers changed shifts north of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 33 people and wounding 56 others.
The blast struck around midday as troops were leaving the base in Taji, 20 kilometers, north of the capital. Twenty two soldiers were among the dead, and several vehicles were damaged, police said.
The casualty toll was high because the attacker blew up the car while large numbers of soldiers were walking to and from a parking area for waiting minibuses.
Insurgents frequently target members of the country's security forces in an effort to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government. Although violence has ebbed in Iraq since the height of the insurgency, attacks still occur frequently.
Officials said many of the wounded were soldiers. They warned the death toll could rise further because several of the injuries were serious.
The attack was the deadliest in Iraq in more than a week. On October 27, insurgents unleashed a string of bombings and other attacks around the country that left at least 40 people dead.
It was the second bombing in Taji in less than 24 hours. On Monday, police said a car bomb struck an army patrol not far from the site of yesterday's blast, wounding eight people. Another bombing on Monday near an outdoor market in a Shiite neighborhood on Baghdad's outskirts killed four people.
Meanwhile, the head of the country's self-rule Kurdish region urged Kurds in neighboring Syria to stay united and not let political differences devolve into violence.
The comments by Massoud Barzani on Monday point to growing concern in Iraq that infighting among Syrian Kurds could complicate that country's civil war and risk destabilizing Iraq's Kurdish region.
Syria's Kurds have been solidifying control over territory where they live amid the tumult of the conflict.
The blast struck around midday as troops were leaving the base in Taji, 20 kilometers, north of the capital. Twenty two soldiers were among the dead, and several vehicles were damaged, police said.
The casualty toll was high because the attacker blew up the car while large numbers of soldiers were walking to and from a parking area for waiting minibuses.
Insurgents frequently target members of the country's security forces in an effort to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government. Although violence has ebbed in Iraq since the height of the insurgency, attacks still occur frequently.
Officials said many of the wounded were soldiers. They warned the death toll could rise further because several of the injuries were serious.
The attack was the deadliest in Iraq in more than a week. On October 27, insurgents unleashed a string of bombings and other attacks around the country that left at least 40 people dead.
It was the second bombing in Taji in less than 24 hours. On Monday, police said a car bomb struck an army patrol not far from the site of yesterday's blast, wounding eight people. Another bombing on Monday near an outdoor market in a Shiite neighborhood on Baghdad's outskirts killed four people.
Meanwhile, the head of the country's self-rule Kurdish region urged Kurds in neighboring Syria to stay united and not let political differences devolve into violence.
The comments by Massoud Barzani on Monday point to growing concern in Iraq that infighting among Syrian Kurds could complicate that country's civil war and risk destabilizing Iraq's Kurdish region.
Syria's Kurds have been solidifying control over territory where they live amid the tumult of the conflict.
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