Eight killed, 19 wounded, in Iraq bombings

Explosions caused by a bomb left in a bag near labourers waiting for day's work in Baghdad and a suicide bomber in a restaurant in northern Iraq killed at least eight people today and wounded 19 more.

The Baghdad explosion happened shortly before 8am local time near Liberation Square in the Bab Sharqi area where a group of men were waiting near stands serving tea and falafel sandwiches, killing at least four workers and wounding 14 other people, including one policeman, said Lt. Ali Mutib.

Hussein Mohammed Naama, who sells tea and falafel sandwiches, said a man bought a cup of tea from him and left a black plastic bag near his pavement stand.

“He drank his tea and left the bag near the stand. I went to a nearby restaurant to get water and then the bag exploded,” said a distraught Naama, who had tears running down his face. “We don’t know what to do, we need a solution. We can’t live like this.”

At least three shop fronts were blown out by the blast and several cars were destroyed. Workers swept away shattered glass and pools of blood from the sidewalk.

“We want to live but the government doesn’t care about us, the Americans and the police are only protecting themselves while nobody protects us,” said one of the workers, Sayeed Issa, 28.

Impoverished Iraqi workers, normally Shiites, have been targeted previously in the country’s increasingly random campaign of violence. On February 1, a bomb killed eight men waiting for day labour in a largely Shiite area of Baghdad.

In the north-western city of Mosul, a militant with explosives concealed under his clothing entered a restaurant at about 7.30am and blew himself up among people eating breakfast, killing at least four people and wounding five others, said Capt. Mohammed Khalil and hospital official Dr Ahmed Khaled.

The blast devastated the Abu Ali Restaurant, which is popular among Iraqi policemen working in Mosul, 225 miles north-west of Baghdad.

Blood and body parts were sprayed over the walls and floor, parts of the ceiling had collapsed and chairs and tables were obliterated by the force of the blast.

“Police were eating their breakfast and suddenly there was an explosion,” said the owner, who identified himself only as Abu Ali.

Insurgents routinely target Iraqi security forces in their incessant campaign to derail the US-backed Iraqi government, who militants regard as sympathising with the foreign military presence in the country.

Two Macedonian contractors, meanwhile, were released today in the southern city of Basra after they were kidnapped on Thursday, a British official said. No details were available on how they were released.

The freed Macedonians worked for the Ecolog cleaning company at Basra International Airport. Their kidnappers demanded $1m (€836,000) ransom from their employers.

It was unclear whether any ransom had been paid to secure the release of the hostages, who were identified by Macedonian TV as Faruk Ademi and Rasim Ramadani.

Both Macedonians were ethnic Albanians from the western Macedonian town of Tetovo and are among about 1,000 Macedonians working in Basra. Macedonian authorities have warned their citizens not to go to Iraq.

More than 250 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq, including American reporter Jill Carroll, who was abducted on January 7 in Baghdad. At least 39 have been killed.