Twin car bomb explosions leave heavy casualties in Baghdad

2010-06-20 19:27:49

Vehicle debris are seen at blast site in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, June 20, 2010. At least 26 people were killed and 53 were wounded in two car bomb explosions in western Baghdad on Sunday. (Xinhua/Basar)

BAGHDAD, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Two car bomb explosions hit central Baghdad on Sunday, leaving at least 26 killed and 53 others wounded.

The blasts occurred at about 11:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) near the Iraqi Trade Bank building and the government building of the nationality office which is responsible for issuing IDs for Iraqis.

Blood, clothes and shoes were seen everywhere on the ground while security soldiers and rescuers were evacuating and saving the wounded, according to a Xinhua correspondent at the scene.

Besides the lacerated cars used to launch the attacks, more than 10 other vehicles nearby were severely destroyed. The Iraqi Trade Bank building was also badly damaged during the explosions.

Panic was among locals living nearby after the tremendous explosions. Some people sat in front of their destroyed houses, crying.

"I don't know what those politicians in the Green Zone are doing all these years after the invasion; we are still asking where is the security? Where is the electricity? Where is the drinking water? We are prisoners living in our neighborhoods and death is still running after us," Hassan Tu'ma, 42, a shop owner in the nearby Manour district told Xinhua.

"What we know about the politicians is that they are always fighting for their posts and influence, and their long period of struggle could create a political and security vacuum," Tu'ma said.

"I want to cut my finger I dipped in the violet ink to vote for them," he said, referring to the parliamentary elections which brought Nuri al-Maliki's government to power in 2006 and the latest March 7 elections.

Three months have passed since the March parliament elections, political groups still failed to form a new government. The first session of the parliament opened one week ago but only last 18 minutes and was adjourned until further notice to give the political blocs more time to agree on the new speaker and his two deputies.

Sporadic attacks are still common in Iraqi cities more than three months after the country held its landmark parliamentary election which is widely expected to shape the political landscape of the war-torn country.

A week earlier, suicide bombers attacked the Iraqi Central Bank in downtown Baghdad, killing 19 and wounding some 50 others. The attack was later claimed by the al-Qaida in Iraq militant group.

"Obviously the recent attacks by insurgent groups mainly target vital institutions of the government like the Central Bank and the Iraqi Trade Bank which is considered one of the most active financial institutions in Iraq," Ibrahim al-Ameri, a professor from college of politics of Baghdad University told Xinhua.

"I think the insurgents are now trying to cripple the government efforts to revive the Iraqi economy and then to hamper the reconstruction by damaging the vital financial institutions to show that the government is still paralyzed after more than seven years of chaos," he added.

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