Scores killed by Baghdad car bombs

The attacks on Wednesday came two days after politicians failed to draft a new constitution because of differences on basic issues, raising concerns of fresh political turmoil.

Two car bombs exploded 10 minutes apart at the bus station in the central district of al-Nahda, and a third exploded near al-Kindi hospital in the same neighbourhood.

"The casualty figure could rise as there are charred bodies all over the place," an Interior Ministry official said.

The figures were based on reports from four hospitals to which casualties were taken, he added, including the al-Kindi
hospital near the scene of the coordinated attack.

A dozen vehicles, including three police cars, were destroyed in the attacks at the al-Nahda station, a transit point for travellers heading to the southern provinces of the country.

It was unclear whether the police or the station was targeted in the initial blasts.

Timed

The first two bombs, shortly before 8am (0400 GMT), sent a huge plume of black smoke into the clear sky over the city.

One went off close to an entrance to the al-Nahda station.

The blast left a two-metre-wide crater on the road, while mangled remains of a police car could be seen lying on top of another vehicle.

At least three buses were gutted by fire. The vehicles would have been packed with passengers at the time of the explosion.

A second went off inside, a few minutes later.

Bloodiest in weeks

About a quarter of an hour after that, as police and paramedics were moving casualties to al-Kindi hospital nearby, the third bomb detonated, killing some of those who had come to help.

"We heard an explosion in the garage, we went there and ran towards the buses for Kut, Basra and Amara," a witness, Ahmed Jabur, told Reuters at the scene.

"A coach blew up. When we were leaving, another one blew up in the middle of police cars."

The third blast exploded in a green part of the neighbourhood where people usually seek trees' shade in the blazing heat of Baghdad's summer, especially during the rush-hour.

It was the bloodiest attack in the capital in weeks.

The last bombing on this scale was on 29 July in northern Iraq.

Four US soldiers killed

A US soldier was killed in a roadside bombing and another three died when their vehicle overturned during combat operations in Baghdad this week, the US military said on Wednesday.

The latest deaths bring the total US military deaths to 1850 since the March 2003 invasion, according to Pentagon figures as of August 16. This month has been one of the bloodiest for American forces in Iraq.

Three soldiers died on Monday when their vehicle overturned into a sinkhole in southern Baghdad during combat operations, while the fourth was killed when his patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in the southwest of the capital on Tuesday.

Both incidents are under investigation, the military said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AFDE5CD2-BC55-4E84-B086-D49B53882AB6.htm

At least 42 people have died and 80 were hurt in three car bombings in the centre of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Two of the blasts went off within 10 minutes of each other at 0800 (0400GMT) at the busy Nahda bus station.

The third blast happened on the road to a nearby hospital some 15 minutes later, just as victims of the first two attacks were being brought in.

The bombs come as Iraqi politicians continue discussions to reach a deal on a new charter to shape Iraq's future.

All three attacks were less than 30 minutes apart, and police say their apparent co-ordination and planning means casualty figures are almost certain to rise.

The blasts were the largest attacks by insurgents in recent weeks.

Attacks have dropped off amid negotiations on a new Iraqi constitution, which reached a deadlock this week.

Police and officials investigating the attacks were trying to determine whether the blasts were work of suicide bombers.

Bodies and blazes

The bus station serves various parts of the country and would normally have been crowded with travellers at the time of the attacks, says the BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Baghdad.

One eyewitness told Reuters news agency they saw a coach blow up.

"We heard an explosion in the garage, we went there and ran towards the buses for Kut, Basra and Amara," said Ahmed Jabur.

"A coach blew up. When we were leaving, another one blew up in the middle of police cars."

Blazing buses and bodies were strewn across the road, and police and civilian vehicles were damaged in the blast.

The majority of victims appeared to be civilians, many of whom were trapped on buses.

Shortly afterwards, the third car bomb echoed around the city. Medics and police helping the wounded to hospital were among the injured, reports say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4158292.stm

A succession of three car bomb attacks in central Baghdad killed at least 43people Wednesday and injured more than70 , while a separate attack killed 11Iraqis in the northern region of the country, according to security officials.

A suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the al-Nahda bus station in central Baghdad, Police Capt. Nabil Abdul-Qader said. A second car went off inside the station parking lot. A third car bomb driven by a suicide attacker exploded near the al-Kindi Hospital as the wounded were arriving for treatment.

All three explosions all came less than 30 minutes apart, and were apparently coordinated.

According to The AP, at least a dozen vehicles, including three police cars, were destroyed in the attacks at the al-Nahda bus station, a transit point for travelers heading to the country's southern provinces.

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