Iraq More Than 100 Killed And Hundreds Injured As Twin Car Bombings Strike Baghdad

Death Toll Soars After Car Bomb Attacks
2:10pm UK, Sunday October 25, 2009
Adam Arnold, Sky News Online
Twin car bombings targeting two government buildings have killed more than 130 people and wounded 500 in central Baghdad, police said.


It is one of the bloodiest attacks in the Iraqi capital this year, with authorities saying the blasts were designed to "sow chaos".
Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki's office said the bombs were aimed at stopping a parliamentary election in January.
"It is the same black hands who are covered in the blood of the Iraqi people," said a statement referring back to an attack in August.
"They want to cause chaos in the nation, hinder the political process and prevent the parliamentary election."
The two explosions shook buildings and smoke billowed from the area near the Tigris River.
The first blast targeted the justice ministry and the second, minutes later, was aimed at the provincial government building, police said.
Reporting from Baghdad, Sky News producer Mazin said: "The number of dead may still increase dramatically because many of the injured are in a critical condition.
"It hit the heart of Bagdad before midday.
"It's too early to come to conclusions as to who is behind such an attack but it shows Baghdad and Iraq are a long way from being secure."

Iraqi PM Nuri al Maliki with Barack Obama earlier this year
Local shopkeeper Hamid Saad said: "I don't know how I'm still alive. The explosion destroyed everything.
"It's like it was an earthquake, nothing is still in its place."
Around six burnt-out cars were piled up near the provincial government office.
Violence has fallen in Iraq since US-backed tribal sheikhs helped regain control from al Qaeda militants and Washington sent extra troops to the country.
But attacks are still common in a nation trying to rebuild after decades of conflict and sanctions.
The latest atrocity was the worst in Baghdad since August 19, when blasts targeting the foreign and finance ministries killed almost 100 people and wounded hundreds more.
That attack prompted a rare admission of lapses by Iraqi security forces.