Pink Spider
02-11-2004, 02:09 PM
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=168202004
UP to 47 people died today when a suicide attacker blew up a car packed with explosives in a crowd of hundreds of Iraqis waiting outside an army recruiting centre in Baghdad.
It is the second bombing in 24 hours after more than 50 died when a bomber struck at a police station in the Iraqi capital yesterday.
The attack fuelled warnings insurgents are stepping up violence against those co-operating with United States forces to disrupt the planned June 30 handover of power to the Iraqis.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the military’s deputy operations chief in Baghdad, said: "This could be part of the ongoing pattern of intimidation we’ve seen of late. We have stated numerous times that in the lead-up to governance, there could be an uptick in the violence."
Colonel Ralph Baker, of the 1st Armored Division, said there was no immediate indication who was behind today’s attack, but he said it resembled "the operating technique" of al-Qaida or Ansar al-Islam, a radical Muslim group linked to Osama bin Laden’s terror network. The 7.25 am blast tore into would-be army volunteers waiting outside the recruitment centre less than a mile from the heavily fortified green zone, where the US administration has its headquarters.
Col Baker said a man driving a white 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra detonated about 300 to 500 lb (135 to 225 kg) of explosives.
Casualty reports varied. Major John Frisbie, spokesman of the 2nd Brigade 1st Armored Division, put the death toll at 36. Iraq’s deputy interior minister, Ahmed Ibrahim, said 47 people were killed and 50 injured. He told reporters "this crime" will "not deter the people’s march toward freedom". One hospital counted at least 37 bodies, while another reported one more.
Charred debris from the vehicle was scattered across the road in front of the centre as a heavy rain soaked troops and FBI agents looking for evidence at the blast scene.
The recruitment centre was surrounded by barbed wire and had sandbagged posts in front of it. But around 300 Iraqis were gathered outside the centre’s locked gates, waiting for it to open, and were completely exposed. Some of them were lined up to join the military and others waiting to depart for a training camp.
Ghasan Sameer, 32, an officer in the new Iraqi army who was among the wounded, said the car drove into the crowd and ran people over before exploding.
It was at least the ninth vehicle bombing in Iraq this year. US forces have been preparing the Iraqi police and military to take a larger role in battling the anti-US insurgency.
UP to 47 people died today when a suicide attacker blew up a car packed with explosives in a crowd of hundreds of Iraqis waiting outside an army recruiting centre in Baghdad.
It is the second bombing in 24 hours after more than 50 died when a bomber struck at a police station in the Iraqi capital yesterday.
The attack fuelled warnings insurgents are stepping up violence against those co-operating with United States forces to disrupt the planned June 30 handover of power to the Iraqis.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the military’s deputy operations chief in Baghdad, said: "This could be part of the ongoing pattern of intimidation we’ve seen of late. We have stated numerous times that in the lead-up to governance, there could be an uptick in the violence."
Colonel Ralph Baker, of the 1st Armored Division, said there was no immediate indication who was behind today’s attack, but he said it resembled "the operating technique" of al-Qaida or Ansar al-Islam, a radical Muslim group linked to Osama bin Laden’s terror network. The 7.25 am blast tore into would-be army volunteers waiting outside the recruitment centre less than a mile from the heavily fortified green zone, where the US administration has its headquarters.
Col Baker said a man driving a white 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra detonated about 300 to 500 lb (135 to 225 kg) of explosives.
Casualty reports varied. Major John Frisbie, spokesman of the 2nd Brigade 1st Armored Division, put the death toll at 36. Iraq’s deputy interior minister, Ahmed Ibrahim, said 47 people were killed and 50 injured. He told reporters "this crime" will "not deter the people’s march toward freedom". One hospital counted at least 37 bodies, while another reported one more.
Charred debris from the vehicle was scattered across the road in front of the centre as a heavy rain soaked troops and FBI agents looking for evidence at the blast scene.
The recruitment centre was surrounded by barbed wire and had sandbagged posts in front of it. But around 300 Iraqis were gathered outside the centre’s locked gates, waiting for it to open, and were completely exposed. Some of them were lined up to join the military and others waiting to depart for a training camp.
Ghasan Sameer, 32, an officer in the new Iraqi army who was among the wounded, said the car drove into the crowd and ran people over before exploding.
It was at least the ninth vehicle bombing in Iraq this year. US forces have been preparing the Iraqi police and military to take a larger role in battling the anti-US insurgency.