Baghdad: A suicide bomber driving a
minibus blew himself up in front of the Baghdad office of a
popular Arabic news station early today, killing six people,
and burying a lawmaker alive under the rubble of his collapsed
home, police and hospital said.
The bomber was apparently waved through two
checkpoints leading to the Al-Arabiya television station after
security guards checked his identification, said Iraqi
military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi. He said the
explosion occurred about 10 minutes after the bomber cleared
the second checkpoint.
"This has the clear fingerprints of al Qaeda,"
al-Moussawi told the channel, adding that an investigation had
been launched to determine how the bomber was cleared through
two checkpoints.
Two police officials and a hospital official said
three guards, a driver, a passer-by and a 50-year-old cleaner
were killed in the massive blast that hurled around cars and
collapsed nearby buildings. The attack also wounded 16 people,
including former deputy prime minister Salam al-Zubaie, who
lives nearby.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorised to brief the media.
Al-Zubaie, a member of parliament representing the
Iraqiya list headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, was
rescued from under the rubble of his demolished home said
Izzuldin al-Samarraie, an official in the lawmaker`s office.
The lawmaker is a member of former Prime Minister
Ayad Allawi`s coalition, which is locked in a tough battle
with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to see who will be the
country`s next leader.
Allawi could be seen walking out of building after
inspecting the damage. American troops riding in Humvees also
came by to inspect the damage.
He said al-Zubaie`s wounds were serious and he was
undergoing surgery at Ibn Sina Hospital, in the Green Zone
which houses Iraq`s government and the US Embassy.
In March 2007, a suicide bomber concealed among
worshippers blew himself up in al-Zubaie`s home, wounding him
in the abdomen.
PTI
