Suicide car bombs kill seven policemen

TWO suicide car bombers struck within a minute of each other and a half-mile apart in southern Baghdad yesterday, killing seven policemen and raising the day’s death toll from blasts in the capital to at least 31, police said.

Earlier, the first suicide car bombing killed 16 police and five civilians, signalling a new round of violence one day after residents suffered Baghdad’s bloodiest day since the fall of Saddam Hussein - 160 dead and 570 wounded.

A roadside bomb struck a Ministry of Industry bus in eastern Baghdad, killing three civilians and wounding 13, said police Lt Col Ahmed Abbod.