19 Killed in Baghdad bomb explosion
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-20 13:58
A bomb exploded Saturday in a Shiite district of Baghdad, killing 19 people
and wounding 58 on the day that Iraq's incoming prime minister was to present
his Cabinet to parliament for approval, police said.
Mourners carry the
coffin of Abbas Kadhim, a member of the Al-Mahdi Army Shiite militia, who
was killed by police on Thursday, according to funeral-goers, at his
funeral in the town of Najaf in Iraq Friday, May 19, 2006.
[AP] |
The blast occurred at about 6:30 a.m. near a food stand in Sadr City where
men gather to wait for jobs as day laborers, police Maj. Hashim al-Yaser said.
"It was a huge explosion," said Mohamed Hamid, who works in a bakery in the
area. "We carried many of the injured to ambulances and helped remove the
bodies."
Police Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohammedawi said 19 people were killed and 58
wounded. Many of the injured were rushed to nearby Imam Ali Hospital, where
hallways were filled with doctors and nurses treating and bandaging the wounded.
The violence occurred ahead of a planned meeting of Iraq's parliament which
was to approve the new Cabinet of Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki.
Approval of the Cabinet is the final stage in formation of a national unity
government, which the United States hopes can calm the violence raging in the
country more than three years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam
Hussein.
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