Baghdad, Sept 06: Two bombs that went off within
minutes of each other in north Baghdad today killed at least
nine people and wounded 39, police said, a day after the
President predicted the bloodshed would be mostly over by the
end of next year.
The explosions, one a parked car bomb and another a
roadside bomb, were targeting a passing Iraqi Army patrol at
a busy intersection during the morning rush hour as people
headed to work, police 1st Lt Mohammed Khayun said.
Two of the dead and eight of the wounded were Iraqi
soldiers, police said.
Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed by suicide bombings,
shootings and mortar and rocket attacks over the past two
weeks.
Police said 15 Iraqis died in violence across the country
yesterday. In Saweria, a town about 30 miles south of Baghdad,
the bodies of five other people were found dumped, all
blindfolded, shot and tortured - signs of sectarian reprisal
killings that have surged this year.
Iraq's Parliament resumed yesterday after its summer
recess and voted to extend a state of emergency for a month.
The measure, which has been in place for almost two years,
covers every area except the autonomous Kurdish region in the
north. It grants security forces the power to impose curfews
and make arrests without warrants.
Bureau Report
