Iraq

40 people killed in worst attack in a month

Article published on the 2008-04-15 Latest update 2008-04-16 07:18 TU

Sadr City, Iraq after an air attack
(Photo : Reuters)

Bombers struck outside a courthouse in Baquba, Iraq, on Tuesday, killing at least 40 people. Many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. It was the most devastating attack in a month, Iraqi officials said. At least 80 people were wounded, including women and children. Baquba, the capital of the central province of Diyala, is considered an al Qaeda stronghold.

At least 22 other people were killed across Iraq on Tuesday. A suicide-bomber detonated his explosives in a restaurant in the Sunni-Muslim Anbar area on the outskirts of Ramadi, western Iraq, killing 13, according to local officials. Another 14 people were injured in the blast, Ramadi police chief Major General Tareq al-Youssef confirmed.

A roadside bomb placed near a police station in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood killed two workers and wounded two police officers, security officials said.

US military sources said that three Shia-Muslim gunmen were killed in a firefight with coalition forces on Tuesday. The US troops killed three more after air support was called in as the clashes continued in Sadr City, one of the poorest slums in the capital.

Doctors for Iraq, a group of Iraqi medical staff opposed to the occupation, said that 30 people were killed in the US air strikes in Sadr City.

The doctors at Imam Ali hospital said that 13 of the bodies were brought to the hospital, including a number of children.