June 14, 2004
Photo: A vehicle burns after a car bomb explodes on one of Baghdad's busiest streets.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A car bomb targeting a convoy of Western electrical contractors shattered the morning rush hour in central Baghdad's Saadun neighborhood Monday, killing at least 13 people and wounding at least 60 others, coalition, diplomatic and Iraqi officials said.
It was the second deadly car bombing in Baghdad in two days.
According to a senior military coalition official, the apparent target of the attack was a convoy of three SUVs -- the type often favored by Western contractors. From the convoy, five foreign nationals were killed and three wounded.
The British Foreign Office in London confirmed two Britons died in the blast. The French Embassy in Baghdad said one of its citizens was killed and a senior coalition official said an American contractor died in the attack. The identification of the fifth foreign national was not immediately known.
Shahab Ahmed with the Ministry of Health said eight Iraqis were also killed and 60 were wounded in the explosion.
According to Hassan Rashid with Baghdad Emergency Police, an SUV packed with 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of explosives was used in the attack. He said nine cars were destroyed in the blast, along with the three SUVs.
CNN's Jane Arraf said the blast occurred around 8 a.m. (midnight EDT) in the "heart of the commercial center" of the Iraqi capital near Liberation Square.
Photo: June 14: A U.S. soldier takes up position behind a smouldering vehicle in Baghdad, Iraq.
Several vehicles caught fire from the blast and firefighters worked to put out the flames. A building was demolished in the blast. Iraqis dug through the rubble, removing bloodied victims.
People were loaded into the back of pickups and into ambulances to be taken for medial treatment. Pools of blood could be seen on the pavement.
Sunday bombing kills 12
The attack came a day after another car bomb attack near a U.S. military installation on the outskirts of Baghdad. That blast left 12 Iraqis dead, eight civilians and four police officers. Thirteen others were wounded, according to a coalition news release.
The spate of attacks have inflamed the tempers of many Iraqis. Shouts of "Where is the freedom?" and "Where is the democracy?" could be heard from members of the crowd, following Monday's rush hour attack. Others yelled that Americans and Jews were responsible.
Some Iraqis pelted an SUV damaged in the blast with sticks and stones. Gunshots could be heard at the scene.
Iraqi official assassinated
Also in Baghdad Sunday, gunmen shot and killed Education Ministry official Kamal al-Jarah outside his home, the ministry told CNN. It was the third attack -- and the second successful one -- on a senior Iraqi official in less than a week.
And it came less than a day after three prominent residents of Kirkuk were killed in attacks, including a well-known Kurdish cleric, a district mayor who also served as a police officer and the father of Kirkuk's police chief. Fighting in the northern city continued Sunday, when one civilian was killed and seven police were wounded in clashes, coalition military officials said.
Coalition spokesman Dan Senor told CNN Monday that while "protection of these officials is a high priority ... we will not be able to protect every single one of them."
"We either provide security personnel or we provide training and funding," he said.
Despite the attacks, Senor said the June 30 handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi government was going forward -- and in fact had already taken place in many instances.
"We started handing over ministries a couple of months ago, and more than half of them are now being run by Iraqis," he said. "Iraqis are running most functions of their government right now."
Other developments:
* Iraq wants the help of a multinational security force after the scheduled handover of power on June 30, but "On major operations, which [have] political consequences, they've got to seek the approval of the Iraqi leadership or command," said Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar, Iraq's interim president.
* A U.S. soldier with Task Force Baghdad was killed and four others were wounded Sunday when a bomb detonated on the northern outskirts of the city, the coalition said in a news release.
* In Najaf, where fighting has eased somewhat between insurgents loyal to radical Islamic cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and coalition forces, a spokesman said al-Sadr is considering entering Iraqi politics. "There is a future plan on forming a political party to contest Iraq's January national election," Qais Khazaali said. "We have this idea, and we are discussing it, if this crisis will end, God willing."
* U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the U.S. military plans to release 650 inmates from Abu Ghraib prison Monday. The abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military prison guards at the notorious facility has sparked outrage throughout the world.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122581,00.html