Baghdad car bomb attacks leave at least 21 people dead

CAR bomb attacks killed at least 21 people and wounded 96 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad yesterday.

In Fallujah, US warplanes struck what the military called terror hideouts, killing 11, according to doctors who said women and children were among the dead.

The two car bombs ripped through central Baghdad streets about an hour apart.

In the first explosion, a 4X4 vehicle packed with explosives detonated outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the US embassy and key Iraqi government offices.

Yarmouk Hospital received 15 bodies and 81 wounded from the explosion, said hospital officials.

The second car bomb exploded 45 minutes later, targeting a convoy of 4X4 vehicles leaving a complex of major hotels where foreign contractors and journalists reside. Bursts of gunfire echoed through the street after the blast.

At least six people were killed and 15 wounded, said Tahsin al-Freiji of the Facility Protection Service, which guards major installations in the city.

Both the Green Zone and the area around the hotels have been the target of previous suicide attacks that have killed dozens of people.

Two car bombs also exploded in Mosul, 225 miles north-west of Baghdad. Two people believed to be transporting explosives and a civilian bystander were killed in one of the blasts, said Captain Angela Bowman, a military spokeswoman. Hospital officials said they treated 11 wounded in the blast.

The second bomb targeted a US army convoy, injuring one American soldier, Capt Bowman said.

The soldier was evacuated to a military hospital. There were no immediate reports of civilian casualties.

In rebel-held Fallujah, US warplanes unleashed strikes on two houses yesterday, killing at least 11 people, hospital officials said.

The military said the strikes targeted followers of Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

A strike in the central Jumhuriyah area killed nine people, including three women and four children, said Dr Adil Khamis of Fallujah General Hospital. Twelve were injured, including six women and three children, he said.

A second strike in the city’s southern Shuhada neighbourhood killed two more people, Dr Khamis said.

Two American soldiers were killed by small arms fire at a checkpoint in Baghdad, the US command revealed yesterday. The soldiers were killed on Sunday at a traffic control point.