18/04/2007

Iraq bombs leave more than 150 dead

More than 150 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts in Iraq.

In the deadliest attack, at least 115 people were killed when a car bomb exploded in a market in Sadriyah.

An hour before that blast, at least 30 people were killed in what is believed to have been an attack by a suicide bomber in a car at a police checkpoint in Sadr City.

Another car bomb, this time in a parked car, also exploded near a private hospital in the Karradah area of Baghdad, killing at least ten people.

The fourth and final explosion occurred when a bomb left on a minibus exploded, killing at least two people.

The attacks came after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said that Iraqi forces would take control of the country's security from foreign troops by the end of the year.

Commenting on the bombings, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "This latest carnage in Baghdad is another appalling example of the lengths to which those who offer only death and destruction will go to in trying to undermine democracy in Iraq.

"My thoughts are with the families and friends of those killed and injured in these horrific attacks. Such acts only strengthen our determination to continue to support the people and government of Iraq and underline the importance of the reconciliation process."

(KMcA/JM)


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