Two nearly simultaneous bombs struck a predominantly Shiite commercial area in central Baghdad, killing at least 78 people and wounding at least 156, Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili said.
The US military reported the deaths of two Marines in a particularly bloody weekend for US forces in Iraq.
The first blast, a car bomb, tore through stalls of vendors peddling DVDs and secondhand clothes shortly after noon in the Bab al-Sharqi market between Tayaran and Tahrir squares -- one of the busiest parts of Baghdad. Seconds later, a suicide car bomber drove into the crowd. Police estimated that each car was loaded with nearly 100kg of explosives.
Police and hospital officials said at least 78 people were killed and 156 were wounded.
The explosions left body parts strewn on the pavement, along with DVDs and compact discs as black smoke rose into the sky. Iraqi police sealed off the area as ambulances rushed to the scene to evacuate the victims.
Survivors were taken to nearby al-Kindi Hospital, where emergency personnel worked feverishly over the bloodied and badly wounded.
Corpses covered in blue and white cloth littered the outdoor courtyard at the hospital. Family members and friends squatted beside the dead, screaming in grief and crying out oaths.
On Thursday, a car bomb blew up as an Iraqi police patrol was traveling in the district, killing four people -- two policemen and two civilians -- and wounding 11. The blast burned many cars and shattered nearby windows.
A suicide bomber killed at least 63 people in the same area last month.
The explosions came hours after gunmen killed a female teacher on her way to work.
PATROL PARTNERS: The ‘Chiayi’ and the ‘Penghu’ departed for a two-day joint patrol of Palau’s exclusive economic zone, the CGA’s second diplomatic visit to the country The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) set a record for its southernmost deployment of a coast guard vessel as the vessels Chiayi and the Penghu reached Palau’s Pulo Anna Island on Saturday in a cooperative exercise between the two countries. The island, about 217 nautical miles (401km) southwest of Koror in the Palauan state of Sonsorol and 1,220 nautical miles from Taiwan’s southernmost point, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), is the furthest south a CGA vessel has sailed. The two vessels are in Palau for the coast guard’s second diplomatic visit to the country. They docked at Malakal Harbor on Tuesday last week. The coast guard
The government is monitoring online rumors that a pneumonic plague outbreak has spread from Russia into China, and it might enhance quarantine measures, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During a legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that rumors had circulated that the disease had spread across several Chinese provinces. He asked Cho whether the government was prepared to prevent the disease spreading to Taiwan, given the volume of traffic between the two sides, and how concerned the government was about the alleged outbreak. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had implemented border quarantine measures after briefing the Executive
BATCH 1: The military has plans to assign the weapons to the army to defend Taiwan proper, as well as outlying islands and the navy for the Marine Corps, the official said Taiwan is to receive 500 Stinger missiles and 178 launchers from the US by the end of the year, the first batch under a planned two-stage acquisition totaling 2,621 missiles and 763 launchers, a defense official said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The portable missiles would play a vital role in the nation’s air defense capabilities, the source said. The army plans to deploy 2,235 missiles and 657 launchers to defend Taiwan proper and outlying islands, they said, citing military documents. The navy is allotted 295 missiles and 85 launchers to arm the Marine Corps and some surface vessels that lack air defense
RIGHT TO DIPLOMACY: Under the UN Charter, every state has the right to conduct foreign policy free from external pressure, Belize said in a statement Belize and Paraguay on Monday condemned Beijing sanctions over their countries’ ties with Taiwan, saying China’s actions create unnecessary tensions. Earlier on Monday, Beijing announced sanctions against Paraguayan Minister of Information and Communication Technologies Gustavo Villate and Belizean Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Fonseca. The Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it rejected the sanctions, writing on X that they created unnecessary friction. It added that it reaffirmed its support for Taiwan and its commitment to democratic values and principles. Villate told the Spanish-language Paraguayan daily ABC Color the sanctions were “predictable” and linked them to several cooperation projects between Taiwan and Paraguay. The projects
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