/ 22 October 2007

Baghdad bomb blasts kill six

A bomb attack on a bus and a series of roadside bomb blasts in Baghdad on Monday left at least six people dead and dozens wounded, police and medics said.

The bus was carrying civilians to work in central Baghdad’s Karrada neighbourhood when the blast occurred, killing three people, the security officials said.

Thirteen others were also wounded and were admitted to the nearby Ibn Nafis hospital, a medic there told Agence France-Presse.

Three people were killed and 11 wounded in a separate attack when two coordinated roadside bombs exploded in the capital’s south-eastern al-Zafaraniyah neighbourhood.

The casualties were all a result of the second explosion, which went off as police arrived to probe the first bombing, a security official said. Eight of the wounded were policemen, he added.

Another roadside bomb exploded on Baghdad’s central al-Sinaa Street and wounded two people, police said.

United States and Iraqi forces have launched a massive military crackdown in Baghdad since February to try to stem the daily violence in the capital.

The operation has largely curbed the sectarian violence in the city but insurgents are still managing to set off bombs regularly. — AFP