Twin truck bombings kill, wound hundreds of Iraqis in Baghdad

by Jamal Hashim

BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two truck bombs coordinately exploded in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 132 people and wounding some 512 others in an apparent attempt to shape a setback to the Iraqi government which struggle to restore normalcy in the country nearly three months ahead of the country's national elections.

The photo taken on Oct. 25, 2009 shows the site of a suicide attack near the building of Baghdad provincial council in Baghdad, capital of Iraq. (Xinhua/Gao Shan)

The almost simultaneous truck bombings took place at about 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) near the buildings of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice and Baghdad Provincial Council in downtown the capital.

The first blast occurred when a truck loaded with explosives believed to be driven by a suicide bomber detonated at a busy intersection near the building of the Ministry of Justice in Salhiyah district, causing severe damages to the building and other surrounding buildings, an Interior Ministry source said.

Shortly, a second truck bomb struck the building of Baghdad Provincial Council about 500 meters away from the first blast which is also close to the Mansour Hotel where many foreign media and companies live, the source said.

"I saw ponds of blood and parts of human bodies scattered close to the blast site near the Mansour Hotel where there is also wreckage of dozens of civilian cars near the site," Xinhua correspondent at the scene said.

The blast also damaged water pipes, causing dirty water to flow out to the street, the correspondent added.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene and fire engines arrived to put out fires as columns of black smoke rise above the scene while two U.S. helicopters were hovering over the scene, he said.