33 killed in Iraq as bombers target foreign embassies
0 
|
|
| Smoke arises on the spot where explosions took place in Bagdad, capital of Iraq. [Xinhua] |
![Smoke arises on the spot where explosions took place in Bagdad, capital of Iraq. [Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100405/001fd04cea510d2384b40a.jpg "Smoke arises on the spot where explosions took place in Bagdad, capital of Iraq. [Xinhua]")
A new wave of violence killed as many as 33 people and wounded more than 200 in Iraq on Sunday, as Iraqi political factions are struggling to form a new government almost a month after the nation-wide parliamentary election.
Baghdad witnessed the deadliest attack in the day when three suicide bombers detonated car bombs within minutes of each other targeting foreign embassies, killing 30 people and wounding 224 others, including security forces, said an Interior Ministry source.
The three suicide bombers struck the Iranian embassy, the consulate office of the Egyptian embassy and the residence of German ambassador in central and western Baghdad in a coordinated attack following mortar attacks on Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
The first suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden car near the residence of the German ambassador in Baghdad's western district of Mansour at about 11:15 a.m. local time (0815 GMT), the Interior Ministry source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The blast destroyed the residence and also caused severe damages to nearby buildings, including the Spanish and the Syrian embassies, said the source.
The second massive explosion occurred about two minutes later when another suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed car near the Egyptian consulate office in the same district, destroying several houses and caused damages to the office building, the source said.
One of the Iraqi guards of the Egyptian consulate was among the killed and four others were wounded by the blast that left a crater at about five meters wide, the source added.
"Our house is totally destroyed. What have we done to be punished in this way? We are now homeless," a woman in her forties told Xinhua when she was crying with her three sisters for their destroyed house near the Egyptian consulate in the high-class neighborhood of Mansour.
The third similar attack took place at about 11:20 a.m. (0820 GMT) outside the Iranian embassy and the Mansour-Melia Hotel which is close to the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies.
The blast shattered windows and caused severe damages to the Iranian embassy building as well as the Mansour Hotel which is located on the western bank of the Tigris River and houses some foreign media and Iraqi officials.
Iraqi official television of Iraqia aired live footage of the scene of the explosion in central Baghdad, showing police vehicles and ambulances evacuating the wounded to hospitals, while the security was beefed up as smoke covered the area around the Iranian embassy.
Qassim Atta, spokesman for Baghdad Oprations Command, said the security forces foiled a fourth suicide car bomb attack.
They shot dead the attacker and defused his explosive-laden vehicle in Baghdad central neighborhood of Masbah, he said, adding that the fourth bomber was to target the headquarters of police tasked with protecting foreign embassies.
Atta blamed the al-Qaida network in Iraq for being behind the bloody attacks for political purposes.
"The al-Qaida fingerprints are clear and the goal is to attract media attention and to distort the general situation after the success of democracy in Iraq," Atta said.
Atta called on politicians to speed up the formation of the new government, saying "they have to understand that the faster they form the government, the faster we will defeat the enemy."
The three blasts followed two rounds of mortar attacks on the Green Zone in central the capital.
It was not known whether the mortar attack caused any casualty, but plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the vast area on the west side of the Tigris River.
Also on Sunday, up to three people were killed and some 40 others injured in another deadly car bomb attack near a passing police patrol in the city of Mosul, the capital of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, a local police source said.
The blast destroyed an old building, burying several people under its debris, along with damaging several buildings and shops at a nearby popular marketplace in the city located some 400 km north of Baghdad, the source said.
Earlier in the day, another 33 people were wounded in Baghdad and the volatile eastern province of Diyala in sporadic bomb and gunfire attacks.
Sporadic attacks continue in Iraq about a month after the country held its landmark parliamentary election which is widely expected to shape the political landscape of the war-torn country.
However, observers warn that political turmoil will destabilize the country and prolonged government formation would complicate Iraq's situation as the U.S. troops in Iraq are slated to be cut by half at the end of August and to fully withdraw by the end of 2011.
