IRAQ: Iraq market bomb kills seven, wounds 21

Record ID: 357302

  • Title: IRAQ: Iraq market bomb kills seven, wounds 21
  • Date: 20th September 2009
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SWEET-SHOP OWNER, QAIS, SAYING: "We were working to earn our living on a quiet evening, every worker was busy with his work as people brought trays of kelecha (sweets) for Eid, in fact I was asking for more workers to come, when a blast took place nearby." WOMEN GATHERING OUTSIDE SHOP
  • Embargoed: 5th October 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA8OZB15NBRPMNZ2GK1HIPOWO87
  • Story Text: A bomb planted in a busy market in the Iraqi town of Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, kills at least seven people and wounds 21.
    A bomb planted in a busy market in the Iraqi town of Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, killed at least seven people and wounded 21 on Friday (September 18), police said.
    The explosion shattered a relatively calm holy Muslim month of Ramadan, whichthis weekend and has been a favourite militant target in past years.
    It struck just as residents were shopping for food to brake their fast.
    "We were working to earn our living on a quiet evening, every worker was busy with his work as people brought trays of kelecha (sweets) for Eid, in fact I was asking for more workers to come, when a blast took place nearby," said Qais, the owner of a sweet shop.
    Police gave no further details. Sources at a local hospital confirmed the death toll.
    Despite persistent violence, Iraqis have been venturing out on evenings during Ramadan and many say they feel safer than they have for years.
    But the blast in Mahmudiya, 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, was a reminder of the security issues Iraq faces six and half years after the U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
    Evening gatherings for Ramadan have in the past been a magnet for bombers linked to al-Qaeda and other groups, but Iraq seems to have seen a fall in deadly bombings this month.
    Religiously mixed Mahmudiya was once in the heart of the so-called "Triangle of Death", where radical Sunni and Shi'ite Islamist militants battled it out and settled sectarian scores in 2006 and 2007, killing hundreds of Iraqis. It has since been largely quiet.
    But two roadside bombs there on September 10 killed at least two people and wounded 10.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register