Suicide bombers kill 19 in Baghdad attacks

IRAQ: TWO BOMB blasts killed 19 people in Baghdad yesterday, police and Iraqi security forces said, despite an increased security presence across the capital for a historic visit by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iraqi officials said the attacks were not related to the state visit, the first by a regional leader since the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.

In the worst incident, 15 people were killed and 20 wounded when an Iraqi army patrol was hit by a suicide car bomb in central Baghdad's Bab al-Muadham area, said Maj Gen Qassim Moussawi.

The dead included Iraqi soldiers, neighbourhood security police and civilians, the US military said.

Another four people, including two soldiers, were killed and 10 were wounded when a suicide bomber rammed a minibus into an Iraqi army checkpoint in Ghadeer in eastern Baghdad.

The US military said Iraqi soldiers had prevented the bomber from reaching the probable intended target, a nearby Iraqi army headquarters, probably saving many lives.

The bombings, which the US blamed on Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda, occurred despite a major security operation across Baghdad for Mr Ahmadinejad's visit, which ended yesterday.

© 2008 Reuters

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times