Baghdad suicide blasts target embassies; 35 dead

Baghdad suicide blasts target embassies; 35 dead

By ADAM SCHRECK and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press

April 4, 2010 BAGHDAD — Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs near embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 200 in back-to-back attacks, authorities said. The bombings came two days after a chilling execution-style attack by gunmen who raided homes south of Baghdad, killing 24 people, many of them believed to be anti-al-Qaida fighters. The rise in bloodshed after a relative lull deepened fears that insurgents will seize on the political turmoil after last month's indecisive parliamentary elections to sow further instability. Sunday's blasts went off within minutes of each other — one near the Iranian Embassy and two others in an area that houses several embassies, including the Egyptian Consulate and German Embassy, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the city's operations command center. Security forces shot and killed a man wearing a suicide belt before he could detonate a fourth bomb-rigged car near the former Germany Embassy, which is now a bank, al-Moussawi said. It was not immediately clear how many people from the embassies were among the victims. Several Iraqi guards at the Egyptian Consulate and one Iraqi guard at the German Embassy were killed, authorities said. Guards at the Egyptian Consulate opened fire on one of the attackers as he drove toward them, but were unable to stop him before the blast hit concrete barriers, al-Moussawi said. Four Egyptians working at the consulate were wounded by shrapnel, according to Egypt's Foreign Ministry. "These explosions targeted diplomatic missions," al-Moussawi told The Associated Press, saying the death toll was likely to rise. "It's a terrorist act." Multiple, coordinated bombings in the capital have become a hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq. The force of the blasts shook buildings and rattled windows in the center of the capital. AP Television News footage showed civilians outside the Iranian Embassy loading casualties into police vehicles and ambulances. Stunned victims in bloody clothes fled the scene as smoke rose. One man was cradling a small girl wearing a white dress in his arms. Hassan Karim, 32, who owns a clothing shop in Baghdad, said the first blast shattered windows and knocked all the shelves off the walls. He ran outside after the second explosion just minutes later. "I saw children screaming while their mothers held their hands or clutched them to their chest," he told the AP. "Cars were crashing into each other in streets, trying to find a way to flee." U.S. military spokesman Capt. Jay Ostrich said American forces, including explosives disposal teams, were assisting Iraqi troops at the government's request. He said the U.S. military is "ready to support any further requests for assistance" from Iraqi authorities. Police officials said at least 19 people were killed outside the Iranian Embassy and at least 16 were killed in the other explosions. Some 215 people were reported wounded. One of the police officials said many of the victims were employees at a state-run bank near the Iranian Embassy. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. "The explosion happened at the embassy gate, targeting visitors and Iraqi police," said Iran's ambassador, Hasan Kazemi Qomi. "There was some damage to the embassy building but no employees were harmed inside." Calls to the other embassies rang unanswered. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said one of the German Embassy's guards was among the dead. There have been increasing concerns that insurgents will take advantage of the postelection period to further destabilize the country. The March 7 parliamentary elections failed to give any candidate a decisive win, and many fear a drawn-out political debate could spill over into violence and complicate American efforts to speed up troop withdrawals in the coming months. Sunday's explosions occurred shortly before 11:30 a.m. after a number of far smaller blasts overnight and early Sunday. One of those earlier blasts, believed to be caused by a bomb underneath a parked car killed one civilian and injured nine others, according to police.