Focus of Baghdad attacks turns on police

BAGHDAD – Insurgents yesterday targeted Iraqi security forces in Baghdad, including their headquarters, a day after a wave of bombings and attacks killed 60 people across Iraq, including two British journalists.

The latest attacks came amid a 10-day-old political wrangle over the appointment of sensitive security-related posts in Iraq’s first permanent post-invasion government, notably the defence and interior ministries. The interior ministry itself was targeted when a rocket slammed into its third floor killing two female employees and wounding four policeman, before the improvised launching vehicle malfunctioned.A station wagon had been fitted with improvised launchers and set to go off with a timer in the central Baghdad neighbourhood of Zayuna near the ministry.The car exploded after the first rocket was launched.A patrol of police commandos was hit by a bomb in south Baghdad, killing one commando and wounding three, while three other policemen were wounded when their patrol in east Baghdad was hit by a bomb.On Monday, however, it was civilians who bore the brunt of attacks around the country, including a series of bombs across Baghdad that killed dozens in both Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods.In several cases, commuter buses filled with labourers heading off for a day’s work were targeted.Also among the victims were two British journalists from the US CBS television news network who were reporting in central Baghdad while embedded with a US army patrol.The US military reported that a bomb in a parked car struck the convoy while it stood near an Iraqi army checkpoint.CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier was seriously wounded in the blast, which also killed a US soldier and an Iraqi interpreter.She was airlifted to hospital in Germany on Monday.- Nampa-AFPThe interior ministry itself was targeted when a rocket slammed into its third floor killing two female employees and wounding four policeman, before the improvised launching vehicle malfunctioned.A station wagon had been fitted with improvised launchers and set to go off with a timer in the central Baghdad neighbourhood of Zayuna near the ministry.The car exploded after the first rocket was launched.A patrol of police commandos was hit by a bomb in south Baghdad, killing one commando and wounding three, while three other policemen were wounded when their patrol in east Baghdad was hit by a bomb.On Monday, however, it was civilians who bore the brunt of attacks around the country, including a series of bombs across Baghdad that killed dozens in both Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods.In several cases, commuter buses filled with labourers heading off for a day’s work were targeted.Also among the victims were two British journalists from the US CBS television news network who were reporting in central Baghdad while embedded with a US army patrol.The US military reported that a bomb in a parked car struck the convoy while it stood near an Iraqi army checkpoint.CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier was seriously wounded in the blast, which also killed a US soldier and an Iraqi interpreter.She was airlifted to hospital in Germany on Monday.- Nampa-AFP