Car bomb devastates central Baghdad

BAGHDAD – A car bomb ripped through a crowded line of shops and cafes near a police station in central Baghdad yesterday where many Iraqis had gathered to apply for jobs in the force, killing at least 47 people and wounding 114, officials said.

The blast left a gaping three-metre crater and trail of charred bodies, devastated buildings and gutted cars near the station on Haifa street, an insurgent stronghold that has been the scene recently of fierce clashes with US troops. Paramedics and residents picked up body parts scattered across the street and put them into boxes.Anguished men lifted bodies burnt beyond recognition and lay them gently on stretchers.Helicopters circled.Health ministry spokesman Saad Al-Amili said at least 47 people were killed and 114 wounded.Interior ministry spokesman, Col Adnan Abdel-Rahman, said the bomb was placed inside a Toyota vehicle parked near the commercial hub, located a short distance down the road from the police station, which had been closed to traffic.An interior ministry official had earlier said the attack was caused by a suicide bomber.Angry crowds near the site of the blast denounced US forces and interim Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi’s government for failing to protect police recruiting centres.”Such places were targeted before,” said Ali Abul-Amir, who was among those trying to join the force but had gone around the corner to buy a drink when the explosion went off.Pumping their fists in the air, the crowds also condemned US President George W Bush.”Bush is a dog,” they chanted.Attacks on Iraqi security forces and police officers – whom the militants denounce as “collaborators” – have left hundreds of people dead since insurgents began a 17-month campaign to expel US-led forces and destabilize Allawi’s government.- Nampa-APParamedics and residents picked up body parts scattered across the street and put them into boxes.Anguished men lifted bodies burnt beyond recognition and lay them gently on stretchers.Helicopters circled.Health ministry spokesman Saad Al-Amili said at least 47 people were killed and 114 wounded.Interior ministry spokesman, Col Adnan Abdel-Rahman, said the bomb was placed inside a Toyota vehicle parked near the commercial hub, located a short distance down the road from the police station, which had been closed to traffic.An interior ministry official had earlier said the attack was caused by a suicide bomber.Angry crowds near the site of the blast denounced US forces and interim Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi’s government for failing to protect police recruiting centres.”Such places were targeted before,” said Ali Abul-Amir, who was among those trying to join the force but had gone around the corner to buy a drink when the explosion went off.Pumping their fists in the air, the crowds also condemned US President George W Bush.”Bush is a dog,” they chanted.Attacks on Iraqi security forces and police officers – whom the militants denounce as “collaborators” – have left hundreds of people dead since insurgents began a 17-month campaign to expel US-led forces and destabilize Allawi’s government.- Nampa-AP