Double bombing kills 23 in Baghdad

TWO near-simultaneous bombings targeted a crowded downtown Baghdad coffee shop and nearby restaurant, killing at least 23 people and wounding 26, according to police and hospital officials.

The blasts occurred as the mother of abducted American reporter Jill Carroll appealed for her daughter’s release after her captors threatened to kill her if US authorities don’t release all Iraqi women in military custody by tonight.

Iraqi authorities said six of the eight detained Iraqi women are expected to be released by the US military next week, but not as part of a bid to free Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on January 7. American officials declined to comment.