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Baghdad (AFP) June 13, 2010 A series of eight explosions in less than one hour rocked the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding 20 others, security officials told AFP. The first blast came at around 2:50 pm (1150 GMT), with seven more following in the next 40 minutes, an AFP correspondent in the city said. A security official said the casualties were workers at the Iraq Central Bank in the Rasheed district of the capital. Major General Qassim Atta, a spokesman for the security forces in Baghdad, said a bomb was planted at the entrance to a popular market near the bank. The bomb blast caused a local electricity substation to explode, which in turn led black smoke to rise over the surrounding neighbourhood. Atta could offer no details on the other explosions. Government figures showed that 337 people were killed in violence in May, the fourth time this year that the overall death toll has been higher when compared with the same month of 2009. Sunday's explosions came one day before the opening of the war-torn country's second parliament since the US-led invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. The opening session of the Council of Representatives marks one of the few tangible forward steps taken by the war-battered country's politicians since a general election on March 7 resulted in deadlock between rival parties. Diplomats and politicians, however, warned ahead of Monday's opening that a new government continues to appear some way off, and that it may be several months before the fine detail on the country's new leaders takes shape. US forces are steadily being pulled out of Iraq and a new administration in Baghdad is seen as key to a smooth withdrawal of all American troops -- 88,000 remain in country -- by the end of 2011. Former premier Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya bloc won most seats, 91, in the election, followed closely by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law Alliance, which won 89, but both have failed to build a coalition government. In a sign that the political tempo may be speeding up, Allawi and Maliki held a long-awaited meeting on Saturday, which was described as "friendly and positive," according to a brief statement released by the prime minister.
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Two US soldiers killed by central Iraq car bomb: armyBaghdad (AFP) June 11, 2010 A suicide car bomb in a central Iraqi town killed two American soldiers and wounded six others on Friday, a US military statement said. "Two US Division-North soldiers were killed and six injured after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their combined patrol today," it said. Iraqi security officials earlier said four people were killed in the attack on a joint Ame ... read more |
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