Double suicide bombing kills eight in Baghdad: officials

BAGHDAD: A double suicide bombing killed eight people at an Iraqi defence ministry complex that three weeks ago was hit by a massive suicide attack which killed dozens, a health official said.

A suicide bomber blew up a minibus at the rear gate of the Rusafa Military Command headquarters in east Baghdad around 10:50 am (0750 GMT), said Major General Qassim Atta, a security forces spokesman in the capital.

A policeman told an AFP reporter at the blast site that a second suicide attacker, wearing an explosives-filled belt, then rushed on to the scene and blew himself up -- an account backed up by an interior ministry official.

A health official at Baghdad’s Medical City Hospital said she had counted eight bodies, mostly civilians but including some soldiers, and that 25 people had been wounded.

The blast caused extensive damage to nearby buildings and Dr Adil Saloom, director of the hospital’s emergency department, said 20 patients had suffered fractures and abdominal injuries, probably as a result of falling masonry.

He said he expected more casualties to arrive as clashes were continuing at the site of the explosion.

The largest blast sent plumes of smoke into the skies over the capital.

Security officials reported two almost simultaneous explosions and said the minibus bomber was assisted by two suicide attackers on foot.

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a red vehicle had managed to pass through a preliminary checkpoint but it exploded at a second checkpoint.

“It was a suicide attack,” he told AFP. “Then several gunmen tried to rush into the compound and fired at soldiers. Then a suicide bomber came to the checkpoint where the clashes were occurring and blew himself up.” Interior and defence ministry officials said the third suicide bomber had failed to fully detonate his explosives belt and that he was wounded but they feared approaching him because of the threat of secondary blasts.

An AFP reporter at the scene said witnesses reported armed clashes and soldiers near the blast site were refusing to allow people to pass by because of a persistent stream of single gunshots in the area.

A soldier at the scene said he saw a large number of troops among the casualties and that the gunshots may be being fired by a sniper.

The Rusafa military headquarters was being used as an army recruitment centre on August 17 when a suicide bomber detonated his payload, killing 59 people.

Sunday’s explosion was the biggest to hit Baghdad since the recruitment centre attack and it came four days after US forces officially changed their role in Iraq from a combat mission to “advise and assist” operations.

US Vice President Joe Biden launched the new mission when visiting Baghdad last week, opening up a fresh phase in a seven-year deployment that has cost the lives of more than 4,400 American troops.

He said in a speech on Wednesday that violence in Iraq was now at its lowest level since the war, but that same day official statistics said 426 people died in unrest last month, underscoring insurgents continuing ability to kill.