Bomber kills 47 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber targeting poor labourers killed 47 people in Baghdad yesterday hours before President George W Bush was to review his unpopular Iraq policy in a video teleconference with US military commanders in Iraq.

Interior Ministry sources and police said 148 people were wounded in the blast after the bomber lured a crowd of day labourers to his vehicle with the promise of work. The 0400 GMT attack took place in a popular gathering point for carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, painters and other workers who frequent the cafes and street vendors while waiting for the chance of some work.Many of the workers who gather at Tayran Square are poor Shi’ites.”A driver with a pickup truck stopped and asked for labourers.When they gathered around the car it exploded,” said a witness, who was helping a stumbling survivor with a blood-stained bandage covering his head.”They were poor labourers looking for work.The poor are supposed to be protected by the government,” he said.Bush will hold a video teleconference on Tuesday with US military commanders in Baghdad, then meet Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni.Nampa-ReutersThe 0400 GMT attack took place in a popular gathering point for carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, painters and other workers who frequent the cafes and street vendors while waiting for the chance of some work.Many of the workers who gather at Tayran Square are poor Shi’ites.”A driver with a pickup truck stopped and asked for labourers.When they gathered around the car it exploded,” said a witness, who was helping a stumbling survivor with a blood-stained bandage covering his head.”They were poor labourers looking for work.The poor are supposed to be protected by the government,” he said.Bush will hold a video teleconference on Tuesday with US military commanders in Baghdad, then meet Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni.Nampa-Reuters