Blast Rips Through Minibus In Bagdad, Kills 7 And Injures Dozens
Mayur Pahilajani - AHN News Writer
Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - A bomb ripped through a minibus on Monday morning in Iraqi capital of Bagdad, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens of others, amid heightened security concerns in the country, the local officials said.An explosive-charge attached to the minibus was detonated at the entrance of bus terminal in a mainly Shiite neighborhood of Abu Dsher, located in the southern district of Dora.
The explosion, which injured at 24 other civilians, occurred during the morning rush hour when the bus station was crowded with civilian commuters.
The strength of the bomb could be measured by the destruction it caused. The blast completely destroyed the minibus and charred three cars parked nearby.
"Seven people were killed and 24 wounded after an IED (improvised explosive device) was attached to the bus," Al Jazeera quoted an interior ministry official as saying today.
The security personnel have cordoned off the area and are investigating the incident.
No militant group has taken responsibility for the suicide attacks, but the local officials suspect the involvement of al-Qaeda insurgents.
Similar attacks on civilians and troops have been carried out by the terrorists in the country.
Today's deadly terrorist attack comes ahead of the planned June 30 withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Iraqi cities and major towns.
But the security threat still remains across the country, six years after the U.S-led coalition occupied Iraq.
The icasualties.org site showed that as many as 185 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq since July 20, 2008. The number of Iraqi security forces and civilian deaths has reached 39 in June and 1,241 since the start of this year.
April is considered to be the deadliest month with 347 Iraqi security forces and civilian deaths and 19 killed from the U.S.-led coalition, according to the casualty tracking website.
Early this year, U.S. President Barack Obama said that most of the troops out of some 140,000 U.S. soldiers, who are currently deployed in the country, will be removed by Aug. 31, 2010.
While up to 50,000 troops as a transitional force may remain to provide support and training to the local police and security personnel as the local authorities begin to take charge of security.
Iraq is one of the oil-rich countries depending on crude exports as its main source of revenue, which is also one of the reasons that have attracted al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the foreign troops in the country.
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