21 die in Iraqi bomb attacks

BOMBS killed at least 21 people across Iraq yesterday, security officials said, two days after a suicide truck bomb in the north of the country killed 73 people in the deadliest attack for more than a year.

The blasts came as the US military prepares to withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities by the end of June, and they raise questions about the Iraqi security forces’ ability to stand alone in the face of a stubborn insurgency.

A roadside bomb killed three people and wounded 30 in a market in north Baghdad’s Shaab district, and a car bomb killed five people in Karrada and wounded 20 others in Baghdad, police said.

Another roadside bomb tore through a minibus carrying students in Sadr City in the east of the capital, killing three and wounding 12, police said.

Blood covered the floor of the bus and its windows were smashed. The students had been on their way to sit their final exams before the holidays.

“What did these students do to deserve this? They’re not politicians, Americans or policemen to be attacked,” said witness Mohammed Yezen.