28/07/2004

68 killed in Baquba suicide bomb

A car bomb outside a police station in northern Iraq has killed almost 70 people, it has been reported today.

The BBC has reported that at least 68 people died when a suicide bomber detonated explosives – which had been packed into a minibus – amid a crowded marketplace in Baquba, which lies 40 miles north-east of the capital Baghdad.

Dozens of potential recruits were queuing outside the police station at around 10.15am local time (6.15am GMT) when the outrage occurred. AP has reported that 21 people were killed in a bus that took the full force of the blast. At least 30 people were injured.

There were apparently no coalition forces in the area at the time. One witness said that the bombing was designed to terrorise innocent Iraqis.

Foreign Office Minister Baroness Symons condemned the attack as "senseless".

"We fully support the determined efforts of the interim Iraqi government to stop these appalling incidents, bring the perpetrators to justice and take forward the process towards a democratic future for the people of Iraq," she said.

(gmcg)

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