Chaos as Baghdad bomb blast kills 10

BAGHDAD – At least 10 people were killed and 40 wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded yesterday at a checkpoint outside the gates of the main Iraqi government building in Baghdad.

Bloodied bodies were whisked off in screaming ambulances and people shouted in anger, blaming the United States for blast, after the most serious attack by insurgents since Iraq regained its sovereignty two weeks ago. The explosion carved out a giant crater by the main vehicle and pedestrian checkpoint to enter the high-security area referred to as the Green Zone, which is also home to the largest US embassy in the world.Three members of the Iraqi national guard and seven civilians were killed.”We believe it was a suicide bomb in the search lane,” said US Army Colonel Mike Murray, adding one US soldier was slightly wounded.Black smoke billowed up into the sky and sirens wailed as jumpy US soldiers pointing their guns at panicking bystanders yelled: “Get away.Get away.”At least 10 ambulances zoomed in and out of the smoke-filled area, sirens blaring.Iraq’s Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose life has been threatened by insurgents, toured the chaotic scene and vowed to bring the killers to justice.”Forty people were wounded according to preliminary reports, some of them badly.Three national guard officers have been killed and seven civilians.These people were here to find work and money,” Allawi told reporters, surrounded by the wreckage of five destroyed and smouldering cars.Allawi blamed “criminals” for the attack and said it may have been revenge for police raids on Monday that netted more than 525 suspected outlaws.”This is a naked aggression against the Iraqi people.We will bring these criminals to justice.We think this is a response to recent arrests in the last couple of days,” Allawi said.The suspected outlaws, two of whom were “extremists” and one non-Iraqi, were cooperating with police, the prime minister said.A policeman said the car was packed with 450 kilograms of explosives but it was impossible to confirm the amount.Witness Alaa Hassan wandered the street in a daze as thick grey smoke belched into the sky.With a piece of shrapnel still in his hand, he recounted the ordeal.”Two cars pulled up.One of them was a black car that drove away.The other one, a white car, exploded, I dropped to the ground.When I regained consciousness, I saw so many injured Iraqis, Americans and guards,” he said.Faad Abed, a 36-year-old defence ministry employee who was slightly injured in the leg, said he had been waiting in his car to enter the Green Zone when the explosion occurred.”The line of cars was very long and it was very hot.So I got out of my car and stood in the shade.Then one of the cars waiting in line blew up, and the impact was so strong that I was blown away.”Abed said at least 20 young men waiting for work or demonstrating outside the checkpoint area when the bomb exploded.At Yarmuk hospital, stretchers lined the hallway, with six young men oozing pus and blood as relatives rages at the latest atrocity to hit Baghdad in the 14-month-old insurgency.- Nampa-AFPThe explosion carved out a giant crater by the main vehicle and pedestrian checkpoint to enter the high-security area referred to as the Green Zone, which is also home to the largest US embassy in the world.Three members of the Iraqi national guard and seven civilians were killed.”We believe it was a suicide bomb in the search lane,” said US Army Colonel Mike Murray, adding one US soldier was slightly wounded.Black smoke billowed up into the sky and sirens wailed as jumpy US soldiers pointing their guns at panicking bystanders yelled: “Get away.Get away.”At least 10 ambulances zoomed in and out of the smoke-filled area, sirens blaring.Iraq’s Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose life has been threatened by insurgents, toured the chaotic scene and vowed to bring the killers to justice.”Forty people were wounded according to preliminary reports, some of them badly.Three national guard officers have been killed and seven civilians.These people were here to find work and money,” Allawi told reporters, surrounded by the wreckage of five destroyed and smouldering cars.Allawi blamed “criminals” for the attack and said it may have been revenge for police raids on Monday that netted more than 525 suspected outlaws.”This is a naked aggression against the Iraqi people.We will bring these criminals to justice.We think this is a response to recent arrests in the last couple of days,” Allawi said.The suspected outlaws, two of whom were “extremists” and one non-Iraqi, were cooperating with police, the prime minister said.A policeman said the car was packed with 450 kilograms of explosives but it was impossible to confirm the amount.Witness Alaa Hassan wandered the street in a daze as thick grey smoke belched into the sky.With a piece of shrapnel still in his hand, he recounted the ordeal.”Two cars pulled up.One of them was a black car that drove away.The other one, a white car, exploded, I dropped to the ground.When I regained consciousness, I saw so many injured Iraqis, Americans and guards,” he said.Faad Abed, a 36-year-old defence ministry employee who was slightly injured in the leg, said he had been waiting in his car to enter the Green Zone when the explosion occurred.”The line of cars was very long and it was very hot.So I got out of my car and stood in the shade.Then one of the cars waiting in line blew up, and the impact was so strong that I was blown away.”Abed said at least 20 young men waiting for work or demonstrating outside the checkpoint area when the bomb exploded.At Yarmuk hospital, stretchers lined the hallway, with six young men oozing pus and blood as relatives rages at the latest atrocity to hit Baghdad in the 14-month-old insurgency.- Nampa-AFP