Iraq rocked by 12 car bombs as insurgents continue attacks

TWELVE car bombs exploded around Iraq yesterday, including eight within three hours in Baghdad, as insurgents continued their attacks in the new year.

The bombs injured at least 20 people but killed no one, police said.

Elsewhere, six kidnapped Sudanese embassy workers and a Cypriot man were released.

In Baghdad, the first car bomb exploded at 8.15am local time as Iraqi army soldiers were patrolling a northern neighbourhood, wounding two soldiers.

Seven more bombs exploded over the next couple of hours, wounding nine people, police said. One suicide attacker died. Police detonated a ninth car bomb in a controlled explosion.

Just north of Tikrit, a suicide car bomber detonated near an American patrol, injuring six civilians.

Two car bombs exploded in Kirkuk. One targeted a US convoy, but caused no injuries. The second targeted a police convoy, wounding three civilians.

In other violence yesterday, about a dozen gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in Mosul, killing one bystander and injuring three policemen.

Meanwhile, a Sudanese official said six kidnapped employees had been released two days after Sudan said it would close its embassy in Baghdad, meeting kidnappers’ demands.

Al-Qaida in Iraq had set a Saturday deadline for Sudan to “announce clearly that it is cutting its relations” with the Iraqi government, or it would kill the hostages. Sudan said Friday it would close its embassy in an effort to win their release.

The terror group has kidnapped and killed a string of Arab diplomats and embassy employees in a campaign to scare Arab governments from setting up full diplomatic missions in Iraq.

On Saturday, Garabet Jekerjian, 41, who holds Cypriot and Lebanese citizenship, was released. He had been kidnapped in Baghdad in August. His brother, Avo Jekerjian, said he was released after a $200,000 (€169,000) ransom was paid.

Mr Jekerjian had worked for a company supplying food and alcoholic drinks to US forces. Islam prohibits consumption of alcohol.

On Saturday, at least 20 people died in a series of bombings and shootings.

A US soldier died from wounds Saturday after a mortar attack, putting the American military death toll in 2005 at 841.