Dozens killed as Baghdad bomber hits army recruits

[IDemo]

Source: Associated Press

updated 31 minutes ago

BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber blew himself up Tuesday among hundreds of army recruits who had gathered near a military headquarters in an attack officials said killed 60 and wounded 125, one of the bloodiest bombings in weeks in the Iraqi capital.

The massive blast took place around 7:30 a.m. just outside the former Iraqi Ministry of Defense building that now houses the army's 11th division headquarters. The site receives about 250 new recruits each week as Iraqi security forces try to bolster their ranks to prepare for the U.S. military's looming withdrawal after seven years of war.

Blown-off hands and legs could be seen among pools of blood at the scene, which Iraqi soldiers closed off. U.S. helicopters hovered overhead as frantic Iraqis showed up to search for relatives.

At least two recruits who witnessed that attack raised the possibility that a car had also exploded at the scene, which could account for the high death toll. But a military spokesman blamed the deaths on a single suicide bomber.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38733523/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

[demoleft]

1. Suicide bomb kills 41 in Iraq army recruitment centre

Source: afp

AFP - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded Iraqi army recruitment centre in Baghdad on Tuesday killing 41 people, an interior ministry official said.

The attack, which wounded at least 102 other people, occurred at around 7:30 am (0430 GMT) in the Baab al-Muatham neighbourhood of central Baghdad, the official told AFP.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20100817-suicide-bomb-kills-41-iraq-army-recruitment-centre

[Turborama]

2. Baghdad suicide bomb hits army recruits, kills 51

Source: AP

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber blew himself up Tuesday among dozens of Iraqi army recruits who had gathered near a military headquarters in downtown Baghdad in a devastating strike that officials said killed 51 people and wounded 119.

The massive morning blast took place just outside the former Iraqi Ministry of Defense building that now houses the army's 11th division headquarters. The site receives about 250 new recruits each week as Iraqi security forces try to bolster their ranks to prepare for the U.S. military's looming withdrawal after seven years of war.

Blown-off hands and legs could be seen among pools of blood at the scene, which Iraqi soldiers closed off. U.S. helicopters hovered overhead as frantic Iraqis showed up to search for relatives.

The recruits were gathered in an open area next to Maidan Square in central Baghdad as they waited to be let through the main gates in small groups, according to two Iraqi police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. At least three soldiers were among the dead and eight among the wounded, the police officials said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100817/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

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Earlier article:

At least 41 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at an army recruitment centre in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Iraqi officials said at least 102 other people were wounded in the blast on Tuesday, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the Iraqi army division headquarters.

Security forces have been frequent targets of attack in recent months as the United States reduces its troop strength in Iraq more than seven years after the US-led invasion that ousted then-leader Saddam Hussein.

The US plans to cut its troop numbers to about 50,000 by August 31, the date for the formal end of combat operations, from just under 60,000 now. But fighters appear to be trying to take advantage of a vacuum as Iraqi politicians squabble over positions in a new government more than five months after an inconclusive March 7 election.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108175569660499.html

[saigon68]

3. Peace in our time

Good thing the "Betrayus Surge" worked

The Town of Perfect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VumIgaGhv94

[Botany]

4. But the surge worked ...... everybody said so