A suicide car bomber killed seven people when he struck a checkpoint at Baghdad’s Green Zone early on Tuesday, the second attack in two days at the district that houses Iraq’s interim government and foreign embassies, officials said.
At least 13 people were injured in the blast, said Dr Hassan Abdel Satar from Baghdad’s Yarmouk Hospital.
On Monday, a suicide bomber killed 13 and injured 15 people near the Harthiyah gate on the western edge of zone.
Police Lieutenant Rafid Abid confirmed that Tuesday’s attack also was carried out by a suicide bomber.
A mushroom-shaped cloud of black smoke rose from where the blast occurred at 8a15am, and guardsmen and policemen immediately blocked off the site. A policemen said the car bomb had detonated near the site of Monday’s blast.
The United States Embassy and several other missions are located in the zone, which consists of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s palace and other administrative buildings.
The US military confirmed that a ”vehicle-borne improvised explosive device” had exploded near the checkpoint, and said there were no US casualties.
Located in central Baghdad, the Green Zone occupies an area of 10sq km on the west bank of the Tigris River. It is a virtual fortress encircled by kilometres of 3,6m-high barricades, its gates guarded by US Bradley fighting vehicles. The complex is
off-limits to the public. – Sapa-AP