Bomb that sparked reprisals among biggest in Iraq (Reuters)

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Bomb that sparked reprisals among biggest in Iraq
Thu Mar 29, 2007 4:56AM EDT

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A truck bomb in northwest Iraq this week that sparked
a wave of reprisal killings was one of the largest bombs in four years of insurgent
attacks, a senior U.S. officer said on Thursday.

The toll from Tuesday's bomb in the town of Tal Afar and a second nearby has risen
to 85, with 183 wounded, according to the head of the local hospital. Initial reports
had said 55 died in the two blasts.

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A senior U.S. military officer said the larger of the two truck bombs was thought to
have used between 7,000 and 10,000 pounds (3.2 and 4.5 metric tons) of explosives,
which he said would make it one of the largest bombs since the March 2003 U.S.
invasion.

Television footage of the aftermath showed a huge crater and buildings reduced to
rubble over a wide area with crumpled bodies, including several children, in the ruins.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSPAR34073020070329