Separate blasts kill at least 20 in Baghdad
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
BAGHDAD,Nov 24 (AP): A female suicide bomber blew herself up near an entrance to the US-protected Green Zone and a bomb tore through a minibus carrying Iraqi government employees in separate attacks Monday, killing at least 20 people, Iraqi officials said.
A third attack on an Iraqi police patrol in Baghdad killed two civilians, the police said.
The violence came as Iraqi lawmakers prepared for a vote Wednesday on a security pact with the United States that would enable American forces to stay in Iraq for up to three more years under strict Iraqi oversight.
In the first attack, a bomb attached to a bus used by the Trade Ministry to ferry employees to work exploded shortly before 8 am in eastern Baghdad, police and hospital officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Thirteen ministry employees were killed and three wounded, according to an official with the state-owned Iraqi shopping centers company who also spoke on condition of anonymity. The company is part of the Trade Ministry.
The rush-hour attack happened in a Shiite area and the injured were taken to Kindi hospital in Baghdad.
The US military said 14 people were killed and four were injured in the 7:20 am blast on the minibus. It said American soldiers assisted Iraqi police in securing the area and treating casualties.
A third attack on an Iraqi police patrol in Baghdad killed two civilians, the police said.
The violence came as Iraqi lawmakers prepared for a vote Wednesday on a security pact with the United States that would enable American forces to stay in Iraq for up to three more years under strict Iraqi oversight.
In the first attack, a bomb attached to a bus used by the Trade Ministry to ferry employees to work exploded shortly before 8 am in eastern Baghdad, police and hospital officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Thirteen ministry employees were killed and three wounded, according to an official with the state-owned Iraqi shopping centers company who also spoke on condition of anonymity. The company is part of the Trade Ministry.
The rush-hour attack happened in a Shiite area and the injured were taken to Kindi hospital in Baghdad.
The US military said 14 people were killed and four were injured in the 7:20 am blast on the minibus. It said American soldiers assisted Iraqi police in securing the area and treating casualties.