Two car bombs exploded in Baghdad yesterday morning, killing at least 31 people as of press time, breaking what had been a period of relative calm since the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The biggest blasts in the Iraqi capital in a month occurred as commuters were starting their workweek, underlining the challenges facing Iraqi security officials in stabilizing Baghdad as US forces end major combat operations and Iraq’s police and military assume responsibility for protecting the capital.
At least 10 people were killed when a car bomb exploded in western Baghdad’s affluent Mansour neighborhood, Iraqi Army Brigadier General Ali Fadhal, who is responsible for the western half of the city, told reporters.
He said another 10 were wounded in the attack and security officials are investigating whether it was the work of a suicide car bomb targeting a crowded commercial area near an AsiaCell store, one of Iraq’s biggest mobile phone providers.
The blast sheered off large sections of the concrete walls from the surrounding buildings and chunks of rubble were strewn around the street. Dozens of Iraqi army and police officers surrounded the area, keeping journalists at bay.
An eyewitness, working in an office near the blast site said he heard a huge explosion that shattered windows in his office and brought a section of the ceiling down on one customer.
“Dust and black smoke covered the area and I thought that the car bomb exploded near our office,” said the man, who identified himself as Haidar.
Minutes later another car bomb exploded in northern Baghdad’s Kazimiyah neighborhood, killing at least 21 and wounding more than 70 others, police and hospital sources said. Two policemen were killed in the blast.
Security officials could be seen roaming the blast site as ambulances and other vehicles blocked the road leading to the checkpoint near a branch office of the Iraqi Ministry of National Security that police say was targeted.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks.
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi could be issued as early as Wednesday night, possibly followed by a land warning on Thursday night or Friday, as the storm approaches Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The typhoon is expected to have its greatest impact on Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, bringing heavy rain to central and northern Taiwan and to Yilan and Hualien counties in the east, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 2,470km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving westnorthwest at 20kph. It had maximum sustained winds of 191kph and a
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