Iraqi bomb, attacks kill 120

2004-07-28 20:16

Baquba - At least 120 people were killed in a suicide bombing and clashes on Wednesday as Iraq's interim government marked its first month in office, embroiled in deadly violence and a hostage crisis.

Up to 68 were killed and dozens wounded in the morning blast in the town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, that struck as dozens of police recruits queued outside a post seeking work and a full bus went past.

Health minister Alaadin Alwan said: "Hospital officials have told me that 68 were dead and 56 injured in the Baquba blast."

A doctor at Baquba Hospital put the number of injured as high as 70, adding that emergency workers were continuing to collect bodies from the scene of the explosion.

A news correspondent said he saw at least a dozen bodies lined up outside the hospital's mortuary, already crammed to capacity with the dead.

Dozens of maimed bodies were strewn outside the police post amid pools of blood mixed into the mud.

Area had been jammed with people

Provincial police chief General Walid Khaled Abdel Salam confirmed that a suicide bomber triggered the massive explosion outside the rapid reaction unit building about 09:30.

Police officer Mohammed Jassim said the area had been jammed with people at the time of the blast. "Young men were queuing outside to join the police and a bus was passing by," he said.

Another officer said 600 police recruits were due to come to the station on Wednesday and Thursday. It was impossible to squeeze all the applicants into the building, so some had to wait outside.

"We tried to force them back, but they wouldn't listen. A car just came by and blew up in their midst."

Nervous police began firing into the air as residents, desperate for news of loved ones, tried to get to the scene.

The bombing came three days after United States-backed Iraqi security forces and police killed 13 insurgents in a blistering shootout in nearby Buhruz.

Meanwhile, 35 insurgents and seven Iraqi troops were killed in a joint raid with multinational soldiers south of Baghdad, the US military said.

West of Fallujah, four Iraqi policemen were killed and one was wounded when a homemade bomb targeted a joint US and Iraqi convoy, a local security officer said.

In Baghdad, two people were killed, including a 13-year-old child, when a projectile landed in a central residential district.

670 US troops have died in combat

In the northern oil centre of Kirkuk, two Iraqis suspected of trying to bomb an oil pipeline were shot dead as a policeman was killed making his way home, police said.

Separately, one insurgent was killed and 11 US troops wounded when their military camp outside the city was attacked, the US military said.

Minutes later, two US aircraft were forced to land after coming under small-arms fire, in an incident which left one pilot wounded.

More than 670 US troops have been killed in combat since the launch of the US-led invasion in March 2003, based on Pentagon figures.

- AFP