Thirty-two killed in Iraq car bombing

At least 32 people were killed and 50 wounded when a parked car bomb exploded in a Shiite enclave north-east of Baghdad.

Hospital officials and some of the wounded said it appeared that chlorine gas was used in the attack, but police denied the reports.

The attack occurred about 7.45pm local time yesterday in the village of Abu Saydah in volatile Diyala province, local police said, giving the casualty toll.

The wounded were taken to hospitals in nearby Muqdadiyah and the main Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad.

Hospital officials and victims said it appeared chlorine gas was used in the attack as many of the wounded were having difficulty breathing and had their sight affected. But officials at the provincial police’s joint co-ordination centre denied that toxic gas was involved.

One man had a white cloth across his eyes as he lay in his hospital bed; others were bandaged from head to toe.

Abu Saydah is a mainly Shiite village about 25 miles north-east of the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Baqouba, the capital of the province that has seen a recent spike in violence largely blamed on militants who fled Baghdad ahead of a US-Iraqi security crackdown.