Suicide bombs kill 22 in Iraq
Source: Agencies |
June 22, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SUICIDE bombers detonated two explosives-laden vehicles early yesterday near a government compound by a southern Iraqi governor's home, killing at least 22 people and wounding dozens, Iraqi officials said.
Diwaniyah Governor Salim Hussein Alwan said he was leaving his house when a suicide bomber rammed into a police checkpoint outside his house.
"I was in the garage preparing to leave when the attacker hit the police barrier outside and crashed with their vehicle," Alwan said.
Minutes later, another suicide bomber attacked a compound housing the governor's office and other governmental buildings.
At least 37 people were wounded in the attacks which occurred at about 7:30am when security forces were changing shifts.
Like most government buildings in Iraq, the governor's house and office are surrounded by walls, and visitors must pass through checkpoints manned by security forces to get inside.
The attackers did not appear to make it through the security perimeter but blew themselves up at the checkpoints.
"I had no idea what happened," one security personnel told Iraqiya TV from his bed at the hospital. "I heard only an explosion, flew to the air and went back to ground," he added as his neck and abdomen were bandaged.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suicide bombings are the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The last major attacks in Diwaniyah had been in 2009 when a bomb attached to a bus killed six people and in 2007 when a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol, killing seven officers.
Diwaniyah Governor Salim Hussein Alwan said he was leaving his house when a suicide bomber rammed into a police checkpoint outside his house.
"I was in the garage preparing to leave when the attacker hit the police barrier outside and crashed with their vehicle," Alwan said.
Minutes later, another suicide bomber attacked a compound housing the governor's office and other governmental buildings.
At least 37 people were wounded in the attacks which occurred at about 7:30am when security forces were changing shifts.
Like most government buildings in Iraq, the governor's house and office are surrounded by walls, and visitors must pass through checkpoints manned by security forces to get inside.
The attackers did not appear to make it through the security perimeter but blew themselves up at the checkpoints.
"I had no idea what happened," one security personnel told Iraqiya TV from his bed at the hospital. "I heard only an explosion, flew to the air and went back to ground," he added as his neck and abdomen were bandaged.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suicide bombings are the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The last major attacks in Diwaniyah had been in 2009 when a bomb attached to a bus killed six people and in 2007 when a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol, killing seven officers.
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