43 killed in triple car bombing

Three parked car bombs exploded in central Baghdad today near a predominantly Shiite area packed with vendors, killing at least 43 people and wounding 91, officials said.

The bombs were about 100 meters apart and exploded nearly simultaneously at about 4.30pm, said police Lt Ali Muhsin and hospital officials.

Most of the victims were in the busy al-Sadriyah shopping district in central Baghdad, Muhsin said. At least 10 other parked vehicles were destroyed in an area where street vendors sell fruit, vegetables and other items such as soap.

Muhsin and hospital officials said 43 people were killed and 91 were wounded, raising the death toll from 38 after many of the victims died of their wounds.

The blast, which sent huge clouds of black smoke rising into the sky, was in a popular area with narrow alleys that made it difficult for rescue vehicles to reach the scene. News footage showed a pickup truck carrying bodies to the hospital.

The attack came more than a week after a November 23 bombing and mortar attack killed 215 people and wounded more than 200 in the Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, stoking sectarian tensions.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, gunmen attacked the main gate of Yarmouk Hospital, killing one policeman and wounding three, and the bodies of 12 people who had been handcuffed and shot to death were found by police, they said.

Violence also occurred north and south of the Iraqi capital.

US and Iraqi forces began an offensive operation in Baqouba, the capital of the province of Diyala north-east of Baghdad, where fierce fighting had taken place with Sunni Arab insurgents, the US command said.

At least 36 suspected militants were detained during one raid at a major intersection at 4am in Baqouba, the provincial capital about 60km (35 miles) north-east of Baghdad, police said. Later in the day, state-run Iraqiya television said one al-Qaida in Iraq insurgent was killed and 43 detained, including two foreigners.

But attacks by suspected insurgents continued outside Baqouba.

Drive-by shootings in two nearby towns killed two civilians and wounded five, the police said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of concern for their own security.

Elsewhere, a truck driving at high speed slammed into a bus stop in a town south of Baghdad, killing about 20 people and wounding 15, police said.

The truck hit a group of Iraqis in al-Wahada, 35km (22 miles) south of Baghdad, as they were waiting for buses to the capital, said police Lt Muhammed Al-Shemari. He said it did not appear to be an accident because the truck, an empty fuel tanker, did not have a flat tyre or any other obvious mechanical problems that would have caused the crash.

The driver fled the overturned truck but was caught by witnesses and turned over to police, Al-Shemari said. Other witnesses found the body of a person in the cabin of the vehicle, he said.

Another police officer said the driver blamed break failure, but that an investigation by a local judge would question why the vehicle was driving so fast. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the probe.