Two almost simultaneous suicide bombs have exploded in central Baghdad, killing at least 15 people and putting an abrupt end to what had appeared to be a lull in violence.
They detonated in quick succession about 200 metres apart on a busy street during the morning rush hour, near the Interior Ministry.
Some 35 people were wounded in the attacks. A third blast went off several hours later in the same area, killing one person. It appeared to have been remotely detonated. One eyewitness said he thought children were among the dead.
The blasts occurred near Iraqi police vehicles protecting an entrance to the ministry. An officer said he thought the convoy he was travelling in was the target.
In Kirkuk, a roadside bomb killed four Iraqi civilians. Four more were killed in Tikrit when a fuel tanker was blown up near a US base. In Latifiya gunmen shot dead the mayor.
27 suspected Islamist extremists have been arrested in Kerbala. Some of them are thought to have links to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who is thought to lead al Qaeda's Iraq wing. It claimed responsibilty for today's double bomb blast.
(Euro News)
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