IRAQ: At least 17 people were killed and 39 wounded in a surge of violence in Iraq

A suicide bomber in a car targeted soldiers collecting their salaries from a bank in central Baghdad on Tuesday (August 1), killing at least 10 people, including an elderly women. The blast also wounded 17 people, including civilians. The attack took place at the same spot in the relatively stable district of Karrada where a car bomb and mortars killed at least 27 people last week. A Reuters reporter saw bodies that were charred or ripped apart by the blast lying on the pavement on a street lined with shops. The United States plans to boost its troop levels in Baghdad in a bid to improve security but long-term stability and an American withdrawal, depends on the performance of Iraqi forces. In north eastern Baghdad, a suicide car bomb targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint exploded on Palestine Street, wounding two civilians, a police source said. "We were manning a checkpoint when we saw a car driving in a high speed, we opened fire on it but the driver did not stop. We deployed in the area and started shooting at the car, after that it exploded. The blast did not cause any casualties," said Ahmed Jabbar, an Iraqi soldier. In the Zayouna district, in eastern Baghdad, seven people were wounded, including three policemen, when a car bomb targeting a U.S. patrol exploded. U.S. forces would not comment on the attack. "I was walking in the street when a Sephia (car) with a suicide bomber exploded in the area. My hand was hurt in the blast. Some U.S. forces were seriously hurt in the blast," said Haider Shaker, an eye witness. Earlier, a car bomb killed at least seven people in the town of Muqdadiya, northeast of Baghdad, police said. Police said 15 people were also injured in the attack in front of the hospital in Muqdadiya, 90 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital. "A car bomb exploded near a police patrol, which was driving in the area. Four policemen were killed in the attack and another police vehicle was damaged, hurting civilians who were in the area," said Mahmoud Hussein Latef, an eye witness in the area of blast. Muqdadiya is part of Diyala province, one of the country's most violent areas. Late on Monday (July 31), the U.S. forces supported by Iraqi forces raided a Shi'ite Ahal al-Bayt mosque and a nearby house in western Baghdad, wounding number of civilians, witnesses said. They said that the U.S. forces damaged a number of civilian cars during the raid. "Yesterday, at about 1.30a.m. (2130 GMT) the U.S. and Iraqi forces attacked the area, damaging the cars. We do not know what kind of weapons they used but we think that they used cluster bombs. There are many casualties. They hit the mosque and a nearby school too," said Haider Shaker, a resident from al-Shu'ala area. The reason behind the attack on the mosque was not clear and the U.S. and Iraqi forces would not comment on the raid. U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki have agreed to send thousands more troops to tackle sectarian and insurgent violence in Baghdad. Maliki has already launched a crackdown, but it has failed to ease communal violence which has raised fears of civil war.

ITN Source | August 2, 2006

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