IRAQ: Bomb explosion near a popular coffee shop in northern Baghdad kills two civilians and wounds at least 22 others / US forces report fierce fighting involving Marines in Ramadi

Record ID: 859321

  • Title: IRAQ: Bomb explosion near a popular coffee shop in northern Baghdad kills two civilians and wounds at least 22 others / US forces report fierce fighting involving Marines in Ramadi
  • Date: 18th April 2006
  • Summary: WOUNDED MAN BEING TREATED; WOUNDED IN HOSPITAL (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 3rd May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • City:
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAUC81F8KT0Z5X2GCR2YTX7WAM
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: A bomb explosion near a popular coffee shop in northern Baghdad killed two civilians and wounded at least 22 others on Tuesday (April 18, 2006), police and witnesses said.
    They said that the bomb went off as a police patrol drove near a cafe in the mostly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiya. Four policemen were wounded in the attack.
    The blast severely damaged the coffee shops and nearby restaurant and sent glass of the windows flying and pieces of flesh scattered on the street.
    "Labourers were gathering here and there are a coffee shop and a restaurant here. At around 1000 a.m. (0600 GMT) the blast happened and we run outside to see. We collected pieces of flesh. There are no policemen, only innocent people sitting in the coffee shop," said Saad Hassan, a resident of the area.
    On Monday (April 17), 50 insurgents mounted a brazen attack on Iraqi forces in the district, prompting U.S. troops to provide support in a battle that lasted seven hours, said an American military spokesman.
    The guerrillas attacked Iraqi forces in the district overnight, forcing other Iraqi troops to come to their aid.
    Five rebels were killed and one member of the Iraqi forces was wounded. There were no U.S. casualties, said the spokesman.
    In a separate attack, a bomb exploded close to a passing U.S. convoy in Baghdad's western district of Baya, wounding two civilians.
    A surge of attack in Iraq showed Iraqi leaders' inability to curb violence after national elections in December they promised would deliver stability.
    As the wave of violence continues, the bodies of 12 shooting victims, some of them showing signs of torture, have been found in different areas of Baghdad
    On Monday, bodies with bullet holes were discovered in the mostly Sunni Arab Dora district and two were found in Kadhamiya, a Shi'ite area, police said.
    Four bodies were taken to Baghdad's Yarmouk Hospital.
    "They are (my) employees and they went in a Kia minibus to bring gasoline when they were attacked," said a relative of one of the dead.
    Hundreds of bodies have turned up on Baghdad's streets since the February bombing of a Shi'ite shrine touched off reprisals and pushed Iraq to the brink of a sectarian civil war.
    The discoveries have been taken by some as evidence that Iraqi leaders, who are struggling to form a government four months after elections, are unable to contain violence tearing the country apart.
    A wave of reprisal killings unleashed by the February bombing of a Shi'ite shrine has pushed Iraq towards the brink of civil war three years after U.S. forces invaded.
    The US forces reported fierce fighting involving Marines in Ramadi on Monday (April 17) at a government centre and mosque.
    The attacks involved "multiple homicide car bombs, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy machine gun and small arms fire ... and appeared to be closely coordinated," a military statement said.
    No casualties were reported in the fighting.
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