Nearly three dozen Iraqi civilians died when a massive car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army recruiting base at the former Muthanna military airport in Baghdad on Thursday, officials said. Iraqi health officials cited by Arab news organisations said 35 people died and about 135 people were wounded in the explosion, which occurred at about 9am as a crowd of job hunters gathered in front of the recruiting station.
There were no Iraqi or United States military casualties, a US army officer told CNN.
Most of the casualties appeared to have occurred at a bus stop outside the compound, the spokesperson said. About 100 job hunters had been allowed inside the compound at the recruiting station prior to the attack, and they were not injured, the officer said.
A sports utility vehicle apparently loaded with artillery shells was used in the blast, which appeared to be a suicide bombing, the official said.
US forces use the former airport situated near Zawra Park in west Baghdad as a training facility. Elsewhere, a car bomb attack on an electric utility south of Baghdad killed two Iraqis, said the head of the generating station.
The power plant at al-Mussayib came under mortar fire before a vehicle exploded at the entrance, said Tahsin al-Jiburi, the station boss. Five employees were injured. It marked the fourth attack on the utility in the past three weeks, said Jiburi. The power plant supplies electricity to three provinces.
An Iraqi translator working for occupation authorities was shot on a road between Hillah and Baghdad as he approached a military base, said a local doctor. A third US soldier has died following a rocket attack on Wednesday on a US base 80km north of Baghdad at Balad, the US military announced. Twenty persons were wounded in the attack, some seriously. – Sapa-DPA