Hospital hit in triple bombings
Source: Agencies |
March 4, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THREE suicide bombings killed 30 people in the former insurgent stronghold of Baqouba, Iraq, yesterday.
They included a blast from a suicide bomber who rode in an ambulance with the wounded before blowing himself up at a hospital, police said.
A police spokesman in the volatile Diyala province, Captain Ghalib al-Karkhi, said the blasts, which struck in quick succession in Baqouba, 60 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, also wounded 48 people.
First, a suicide car bomb targeted a local government housing office next to an Iraqi Army facility. Within minutes, another suicide bomber blew up a vehicle about 200 meters down the street at an intersection near the provincial government headquarters, al-Karkhi said.
A third suicide bomber, wearing an explosives vest, rode in an ambulance with the wounded to the city's emergency hospital and blew himself up as rescuers and victims from the first two blasts were being rushed in for treatment, he added.
Most of the victims came from the blast at the hospital, al-Karkhi said. Police later safely detonated a fourth car bomb about 200 meters from the hospital.
Insurgents often spread out bomb attacks as a way to maximize damage as rescuers and others rush to the scene.
No group has yet claimed responsibility, but such attacks have been the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq. Police have made four arrests and imposed an open-ended curfew on the city.
The bombings - Iraq's deadliest in weeks - came as the country is preparing for March 7 parliamentary elections. The crucial ballot will decide who will oversee the country as United States forces go home and help determine whether Iraq can overcome the deep sectarian tensions that have divided the nation since the 2003 US-led invasion.
US and Iraqi officials have warned repeatedly that insurgents were expected to launch such attacks in an attempt to disrupt the vote.
A man purporting to be Abu Omar al-Baghdadi - the leader of an al-Qaida front group in Iraq - has vowed to violently disrupt the vote.
The bombings could also affect the candidacy of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who came to power in 2006 and oversaw a return to relative stability in 2008 and 2009. Al-Maliki has continued to bill himself as the best candidate to assure security in Iraq.
They included a blast from a suicide bomber who rode in an ambulance with the wounded before blowing himself up at a hospital, police said.
A police spokesman in the volatile Diyala province, Captain Ghalib al-Karkhi, said the blasts, which struck in quick succession in Baqouba, 60 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, also wounded 48 people.
First, a suicide car bomb targeted a local government housing office next to an Iraqi Army facility. Within minutes, another suicide bomber blew up a vehicle about 200 meters down the street at an intersection near the provincial government headquarters, al-Karkhi said.
A third suicide bomber, wearing an explosives vest, rode in an ambulance with the wounded to the city's emergency hospital and blew himself up as rescuers and victims from the first two blasts were being rushed in for treatment, he added.
Most of the victims came from the blast at the hospital, al-Karkhi said. Police later safely detonated a fourth car bomb about 200 meters from the hospital.
Insurgents often spread out bomb attacks as a way to maximize damage as rescuers and others rush to the scene.
No group has yet claimed responsibility, but such attacks have been the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq. Police have made four arrests and imposed an open-ended curfew on the city.
The bombings - Iraq's deadliest in weeks - came as the country is preparing for March 7 parliamentary elections. The crucial ballot will decide who will oversee the country as United States forces go home and help determine whether Iraq can overcome the deep sectarian tensions that have divided the nation since the 2003 US-led invasion.
US and Iraqi officials have warned repeatedly that insurgents were expected to launch such attacks in an attempt to disrupt the vote.
A man purporting to be Abu Omar al-Baghdadi - the leader of an al-Qaida front group in Iraq - has vowed to violently disrupt the vote.
The bombings could also affect the candidacy of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who came to power in 2006 and oversaw a return to relative stability in 2008 and 2009. Al-Maliki has continued to bill himself as the best candidate to assure security in Iraq.
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