At least 94 dead in Baghdad car bombings

[unhappycamper]

At least 94 dead in Baghdad car bombings
By Brian Murphy - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 8, 2009 6:07:36 EST

BAGHDAD — A series of coordinated attacks struck Baghdad on Tuesday, including three car bombs that blew up near government sites. At least 94 were killed and 120 wounded in the worst wave of violence in the capital in more than a month, authorities said.

A total of four attacks, which also included a suicide car bomb on a police patrol, showed the ability of insurgents to strike high-profile targets in the heart of Baghdad. It was another embarrassment to Iraqi forces in their expanding role as front-line security as U.S. forces plan their withdrawal.

The blasts came as Iraqi officials prepared to announce the date for next year’s parliamentary elections — a move the security forces worry could bring an escalation in attacks seeking to discredit the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The core of the attacks hit central Baghdad with three bomb-rigged cars exploding in the span of a few minutes.

The targets were the latest assaults directed at Iraqi authorities: the Labor Ministry building, a court complex near the Iraqi-protected Green Zone and the new site of the Finance Ministry after its previous building was destroyed in major attacks in August.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_iraq_bombings_120809/