IRAQ: Two blasts in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad kills 2 and wounds 38

Record ID: 777723

  • Title: IRAQ: Two blasts in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad kills 2 and wounds 38
  • Date: 5th October 2006
  • Summary: WIDE OF EXTERIOR AL-KINDI HOSPITAL
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA931PNOX06XO0FFX20EBHEO5VG
  • Story Text: A bomb exploded near a large crowd of labourers gathering to look for work in Baghdad early on Thursday (October 5), wounding 30, police said.
    The explosion happened at Tayaran Square in the Bab Sharqi area where a group of men were waiting for daily work, police said.
    "They (workers) came from all the provinces to work. What did he (the man who placed the bomb) gain when he put a bomb here and hurt three or four? What do we call such an act ? Is not it an act of a coward? It is not an act of honest man. What did those innocent and poor people do," said Saad, a worker in a nearby shop who witnessed the blast.
    Impoverished Iraqi workers, normally Shiites, have been repeatedly targeted in the country's increasingly random campaign of violence.
    With unemployment running high and an economy that few foreign investors will touch, labourers have no choice but to keep gathering in crowds for days on end hoping to find work.
    In a separate incident, a car bomb exploded in a Shi'ite neighbourhood, northeast of the capital, killing two civilians and wounding eight others, police said.
    "A car bomb exploded in our area, but God willing we will pass this ordeal," said Ali, a policeman at the blast site.
    The attacks come just a day after the U.S. military said bomb blasts in Baghdad have hit an all-time high.
    A car bomb attack on on the convoy of Iraq's industry minister on Wednesday (October 4), killed 14 and wounded 75 others.
    Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has launched a four-point plan to try to end sectarian violence in Iraq. The plan, agreed by top Shi'ite and Sunni politicians late on Monday (October 2) , hopes to halt communal fighting by allowing mixed "security committees" to patrol Baghdad.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Video restrictions: parts of this video may require additional clearances. Please see ‘Business Notes’ for more information.
Register