Car bombs targeting Shiite areas devastated a bustling outdoor market and an
auto dealership Tuesday, part of a relentless onslaught that killed 54 people
and prompted the United States to deploy more troops to combat insurgents in
western Iraq.
Iraqi police inspect
the scene after a car packed with explosives blew up at a dealership in
the city of Hillah, south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 people and
wounding 32 in Iraq Tuesday, May 30, 2006.
[AP] |
The bombs also wounded 120 people, officials said. The death toll made
Tuesday one of the bloodiest days in Iraq this month, and lawmakers still had
not agreed on who should lead the nation's army and police forces.
Authorities also captured a suspected terrorist who allegedly confessed to
beheading hundreds of people. The operation by Iraqi forces also netted
documents, cell phones and computers containing information on other wanted
terrorists and Islamic extremist groups.
The worst bombing hit the outdoor market as Iraqis were doing their evening
shopping in Husseiniyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. At least 25 people
were killed and 65 were wounded, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Falah
Al-Mohamedawi said.
Hours earlier, a car packed with explosives blew up at a dealership in the
largely Shiite city of Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killing at least
12 people and wounding 32, Capt. Muthana Khalid said.
A bomb hidden in a plastic bag also detonated outside a bakery in a
religiously mixed neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, killing at least nine people
and injuring 10, police Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohammedawi said.
Separately, mortar rounds fired by remote control from a car hit the third
floor of the heavily guarded Interior Ministry and a nearby park, killing two
government employees and wounding three other people.
A day earlier, 40 people were killed in various attacks, including a car
bombing in Baghdad that killed two CBS News crewmen and seriously wounded
network correspondent Kimberly Dozier. She underwent two emergency surgeries and
was transferred to a U.S. military hospital in Germany, where she was reported
to be in critical but stable condition.
CBS News reported that Dozier briefly regained consciousness on the flight to
Germany. Vice President Sandy Genelius said Tuesday night that Dozier was
expected to stay at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for several days.
Before Tuesday, at least 4,066 Iraqis had been killed in war-related violence
this year, and at least 4,469 had been wounded, based on Associated Press
reports. Those may not be complete, however.
During May, at least 871 Iraqis have been killed, surpassing the 801 killed
in April. The deadliest month this year for Iraqis was March, when 1,038 were
killed and 1,155 were wounded.
The deadliest day for Iraqis this month was May 7, when at least 67 civilians
were killed.
Amid the surge in violence, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki held another day
of meetings aimed at getting Iraq's ethnic, sectarian and secular factions to
agree on new interior and defense ministers.
But the key security posts remained vacant 10 days after al-Maliki's national
unity government took office.
