Twin blasts rock Baghdad: over 90 dead and 600 injured

by Mritunjay | October 25, 2009 at 04:02 am

277 views | 57 Recommendations | 20 comments

Two suicide car bombs rocked central Baghdad killing at least 90 people and leaving 600 injured. The injured have been moved to four main hospitals of central Baghdad: Al-Karama, Ibn Nafis, Medical City and Yarmuk. The blast came in quick succession at 1030 local time (0730 GMT) while people were headed to work during the morning rush hour. The blasts targeted the ministry of justice and a provincial government office near the Green Zone, causing severe damage.

"I was busy working when there was a massive explosion," said the 30-year-old engineer. "My colleagues fell down all around me, the office became completely dark and then I found myself in the hospital."

This is the second largest attack after August 19th attack which had left over 100 people dead. While no group has claimed the responsibility of the Sunday blast till now; Iraq, after the last blast had blamed foreign fighters and accused Syria of involvement, demanding a UN investigation. This also led to heightened tensions between the two neighbors with each withdrawing its ambassador from the other nation.

Baghdad municipality is being viewed as the prime target of the attack which is just a few hundred yards from the ministry of foreign affairs, which was heavily damaged in the August attacks. The recent explosions blew out windows on many of the floors of the nearby Mansour hotel, one of Baghdad's best hotels which led to the ceiling of at least one floor of the hotel caving in. The hotel building houses the Chinese embassy. As the rescue workers scanned the area body parts were found littering the hotel parking lot. Dozens of cars were smoldered in the blast.

Final toll of dead and injured is likely to go up after the area is cleared by rescue workers who are looking for survivors in the rubble.

"Why are they doing this to us?" shouted another man at the scene of that attack.

Top Iraqi leaders were scheduled to meet to try to end a deadlock over a stalled election law amid growing concerns that the country's January 16 election will have to be delayed. The meeting was scheduled to take place at 3:30 pm (1230 GMT).

"I am concerned that between now ... and July 2010, basically throughout the election and after with the transfer from the old government to the new government, maybe you will see terrorist activities increase," he (Lieutenant General Ali Ghaidan Majeed, Commander of Iraqi Ground Forces) said.

While the Obama administration is committed to withdraw all forces by August 2010, the recent spate of attacks have surely caused concerns and may lead to the decision being reconsidered.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

albertacowpoke

flagged this story as Breaking

at 04:13 on October 25th, 2009

Mritunjay, thanks for getting this story out so quickly. It will now show up on the home page for four hours. If new developments justify it, I'll renew this flag for another cycle.

recommend Add a comment

albertacowpoke

at 04:14 on October 25th, 2009

Thank for bringing this story so quickly. This story just broke on FOX News as well.

albertacowpoke

at 04:19 on October 25th, 2009

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.

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

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

albertacowpoke

at 04:33 on October 25th, 2009

106 are reported dead now by FOX News.

Mritunjay

at 04:35 on October 25th, 2009

The explosive-laden vehicles were parked in car parks next to the two government building, police said.
"They are targeting the government and the political process in the country," al-Mousawi told The Associated Press.

Yasmeen Afdhal, a 24-year-old employee at the Baghdad provincial administration, said that after the first blast, dozens of employees began fleeing the building.

"The walls collapsed and we had to run out," said Afdhal, who was not injured in the explosion. "There are many wounded, and I saw them being taken away. They were taking victims out of the rubble, and rushing them to ambulances."

Black smoke could be seen billowing from the area where the blasts occurred, as emergency service vehicles sped to the scene. Even civilian cars were being used to transport the wounded to hospitals, al-Mousawi said.

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.

Some of the pictures of the blast are too gruesome.

Mritunjay

at 04:46 on October 25th, 2009

Some more pictures: FoxNews Slideshow

albertacowpoke

at 06:03 on October 25th, 2009

Death toll is now reported to be at least 136. Two American Security contractors are among the wounded.

No responsibility has been claimed to this point.

jefhow22

at 06:06 on October 25th, 2009

I fear this is in direct response from Iran's threat last week regarding the killings in Tehran and them blaming the US and UK for this event. Iran said they would retaliate and they did!!

Hugh Askew

at 06:51 on October 25th, 2009

Good take, jefhow. Methinks Iran pulls more strings in Iraq than the public realizes.

Them peace loving muslims sure don't show much anguish when it comes time to blow their brethren to bits.

Pythiian1

at 08:17 on October 25th, 2009

Good timely post. Reuters has posted an update regarding this incident.

(Reuters) - Twin car bombs targeting two government buildings killed at least 132 people and wounded more than 500 in central Baghdad on Sunday, police said, the bloodiest attack in the Iraqi capital this year.

sneha 1702 (not verified)

at 09:29 on October 25th, 2009

I think the Al-Qaeda and the Baath party are behind it. This is a threat to delay elections and nothing else!!!

albertacowpoke

at 09:54 on October 25th, 2009

According to FOX News at least 165 are dead now.

albertacowpoke

at 10:03 on October 25th, 2009

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi police said 165 people were killed and 540 wounded in twin car bombings that appeared to target government buildings in downtown Baghdad during rush hour.

Source: foxnews.com

Mritunjay

at 10:42 on October 25th, 2009

The Iraqi authorities say that they believe these two attacks today and those of the 19th of August are linked.

Damascus [accused by Iraq over 19 August attacks] (Syria) has strenuously denied any involvement.

A number of bystanders blamed the security forces and politicians for failing to keep order.

Ambulance driver Adil Sami told Agence France-Presse: "We don't want the parliament any more - let them leave us alone, we can live in peace and solve problems ourselves."

Baghdad provincial council member Mohammed al-Rubaiey said: "This is a political struggle... Every politician is responsible and the government is responsible, as well as security leaders."

Mritunjay

at 17:38 on October 25th, 2009

President Barack Obama has denounced Sunday's twin suicide bombings in Baghdad that killed about 150 people and wounded some 500 others as "outrageous attacks" that "reveal the hateful and destructive agenda of those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that they deserve." Mr. Obama spoke with Iraq's president and prime minister by telephone following the attacks.

In a White House statement, President Obama said the bombings "serve no purpose other than the murder of innocent men, women and children." He said the United States will "stand with Iraq's people and government as a close friend and partner, as Iraqis prepare for elections early next year, continue to take responsibility for their future, and build greater peace and opportunity."

albertacowpoke

at 18:01 on October 25th, 2009

147 dead 721 wounded are being reported now.

Mritunjay

at 11:08 on October 26th, 2009

Update:

As the floodwater from broken water mains and sewers drained away, workers continued to hunt for victims amid the wreckage from Sunday’s bomb blasts, recovering still more bodies on Monday as the death toll climbed to as much as 155 — including an uncertain number of children — with more than 500 wounded.

--------------------------------

There were conflicting reports of the deaths of children at the Justice Ministry’s day care center. A police official stationed at the Ministry of Justice, Hussein Issa, said 30 children had been killed, but other officials said the number was much smaller. Most were in the center’s playground, close to the street, when the bomb went off, knocking down protective blast walls.

“There were children killed in the swings, others who died right where they sat on the see-saws,” said Usay Ednan, a 33-year-old taxi driver who lives nearby and said he was among the first rescuers.

------------------------------------

Elsewhere in Iraq on Monday, a suicide car bomber struck a checkpoint outside Karbala in the afternoon, killing four civilians, according to Sattar Ardawi, chief of the Karbala provincial council’s security committee.

In Babel Province, south of Baghdad, three beheaded bodies were found at an abandoned farm about 25 miles north of Hilla, one that of an Iraqi soldier, according to a security source in the provincial government. In Mosul, in northern Iraq, four people died in three separate attacks.

Mritunjay

at 11:11 on October 26th, 2009

Some of the deadliest militant attacks in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003:

_ Aug. 14, 2007 — Four suicide truck bombs detonate simultaneously in the small village of Qahataniya, killing more than 500 Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking sect and religious minority.

_ Nov. 23, 2006 — Mortar rounds and five car bombs kill 215 people in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City.

_ April 18, 2007 — At least 183 are killed when four large bombs explode in mainly Shiite locations of Baghdad.

_ March 2, 2004 — Coordinated blasts from suicide bombers, mortars and planted explosives strike Shiite Muslim shrines in Karbala and in Baghdad, killing at least 181 people.

_ Sept. 14, 2005 — More than a dozen coordinated bombings rip through Baghdad, killing 178 people.

_ July 7, 2007 — A suicide truck bomb kills 160 in a Turkomen village south of Kirkuk.

_ Oct. 25, 2009 — Two powerful car bombs explode in downtown Baghdad, killing at least 155 people in an apparent attempt to target the fragile city's government offices.

_ Feb. 3, 2007 — A suicide truck bomber at a market in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad kills 137.

Mritunjay

at 00:38 on October 27th, 2009

Qaeda-linked group claims Baghdad bomb attacks

DUBAI (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-linked group has said it carried out the twin suicide bombings that killed 155 people in Baghdad on Sunday and revived doubts about security in the run-up to Iraq's elections in January.

The statement dated October 26 was posted by the Islamic State in Iraq group on a website often used by militants to announce responsibility for such attacks.

"Suicide bombers targeted the dens of infidelity and pillars of the rejectionist Shi'ite state in the land of the caliphate," the statement said.

It employed language often used by Sunni Arab militants to describe the Shi'ite Muslim majority that has dominated the Iraqi government since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

"Among the chosen targets were the ministry of oppression known as the ministry of justice and the Baghdad provincial assembly ... The enemies only understand the language of force," said the statement.

The authenticity of the claim could not be immediately verified.

The same group has said it was behind attacks near government ministries in Baghdad that killed 95 people in August.

Officials have said two mini-buses were used in Sunday's attacks, circumventing a ban on truck traffic in heavily policed central Baghdad.

Both were driven by suicide bombers from a nearby site, according to aerial images from U.S.-operated airships that hover over the city.

The January ballot is expected to focus on security gains under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after years of war and sticky questions about the distribution of power and oil wealth.

Insurgents are widely expected to try and upset an electoral process that is meant to prepare the way for an ordered withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq.