Death toll in Baghdad bomb blasts rises to 55

The death toll from two bombs that exploded in quick succession in a shopping area in central Baghdad today has risen to 55 with 130 others wounded, Iraqi police said.

A roadside bomb exploded in a crowded shopping area in the Karrada district. Then after Iraqi security services and other people had gathered at the scene, a suicide bomber exploded a second device, police said.

Major-General Qassim Moussawi, spokesman for Iraqi security operations in Baghdad, said: "Two roadside bombs exploded in succession. There are a number of casualties".

Dozens of shopfronts were damaged in the blasts, a witness said.

While violence has subsided across Iraq in recent months, US and Iraqi officials say al-Qaeda, which they blame for most large scale bombings, remains dangerous.

On Monday, two bomb blasts in central and eastern Baghdad killed 19 people, despite an increase in security for the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Last month two women killed 99 people when they detonated explosives in packed markets in the Iraqi capital.

© 2008 ireland.com