AP: Car Bomb(s) Kills 42, Wounds 106 In Baghdad

[Hissyspit]

Hell on Earth.

http://my.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20061211/457e3750_3ca6_15526200612121971316850

Car Bombs Kill 42, Wounds 106 in Baghdad
From Associated Press
December 12, 2006 12:45 AM EST
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two car bombs exploded in a main square of central Baghdad on Tuesday morning, killing at least 42 people and wounding 106, police said.

The carefully coordinated attack in Tayaran Square at 7 a.m. involved a bomb in a parked car and a suicide car bomb, both of which exploded simultaneously near a police patrol and a crowd of Iraqis gathering to apply for jobs as day laborers, said police Lt. Bilal Ali.

He said at least 42 Iraqis, including seven policemen, were killed and 104 people wounded.

- snip -

The suicide car bomber appeared to drive into one of those crowds and set off his explosives as the nearby parked car bomb also went off, Ali said.

Khalil Ibrahim, 41, a shop owner in the area, said: "In the first explosion, I saw people falling over, some of them blown apart. When the other bomb went off seconds later, it slammed me into a wall of my store and I fainted." He was speaking from a local hospital where he had been taken to be treated for shrapnel wounds to his head and back.


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[truthisfreedom]

1. So sad. When is it going to end?

Never?

[GreenZoneLT]

4. Lebanon took about 15 years, and it's still fragile

Northern Ireland had it really bad for what, 30? (Not the whole history of the Troubles, I mean, just the most recent IRA bombing campaign).

[tabasco]

10. Please let me know when N. Ireland reaches 100,000+ dead and get back to me.

Your silly comparisons make you look ignorant.

Maybe step outside the green zone from time to time (or mommy's basement whatever the case may be).

[jarab]

2. I might have missed it ...

Was one of the 79 proposals suggestive of taking away Iraqi vehicles?

More seem to be killed or maimed by car and truck bombs than by IEDs or the various fighting entities.

...O...

[GreenZoneLT]

3. There's no bus service

Iraqis are more car addicted than Americans. Gas used to be practically free, and anybody who didn't own a car took taxis. They do vehicle curfews on Fridays and whenever there's a particularly bad attack that's liable to lead to reprisals, but they don't seem to do much good.

That was a loud one this morning, right at 7 a.m. I've been referring to them as the reveille explosions; something seems to go boom early every morning.

It's just going to get worse when we leave, I'm afraid.

[NickB79]

8. It wouldn't help, they'd just bomb buses

Iraqis need some way to get to work, so if private vehicles were banned, buses would be required in massive numbers. One suicide bomber in an explosives vest loaded with ball bearings on a crowded bus would kill dozens with ease. Less explosive power in a vest, but a more concentrated number of potential victims.

[maddezmom]

5. Dual bombing in central Baghdad kills 57

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two car bombs targeting day laborers looking for work exploded within seconds of each other Tuesday on a main square in central Baghdad, killing at least 57 people and wounding more than 150, police said.

The coordinated attack in Tayaran Square involved a suicide attacker who drove up to the day laborers pretending to want to hire them, then set off his explosives as they got into his minibus, Lt. Bilal Ali said. At virtually the same time — 7 a.m. — a bomb exploded in a car parked some 30 yards away.

The blasts set fire to at least 10 other cars, Ali said. He said at least 57 Iraqis, including seven policemen, were killed and 151 people were wounded.

Iraqis gather on the square early in the morning, soliciting jobs as construction workers, cleaners and painters. They buy breakfast at stands selling tea and egg sandwiches while they wait for potential employers to drive up.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[maddezmom]

6. CNN: Suicide truck bomb kills at least 66 in Baghdad and 220 wounded

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Many of the 66 killed and 220 wounded by a suicide truck bomb blast in central Baghdad Tuesday morning were unemployed Iraqis lured toward the explosion by an offer of work, according to an official with the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

A pickup truck, loaded with about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosives, pulled into Tayaran Square at 7 a.m., a time when hundreds of unemployed Iraqis were gathered with their picks and shovels seeking a day's work.

The driver signaled to the would-be workers that he had jobs for them -- causing a crush of people around the truck -- and he detonated his bomb, the official said

more:http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/12/iraq.main/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Roland99]

7. so that's what "Victory in Iraq" and "New Way Forward" looks like.

:(

[tabasco]

9. Another great day in the 51st state,

Thanks, Bush.

[rodeodance]

11. and it looks like the WH will stay the course (in slow motion)

[rodeodance]

12. Bomber kills 70 in Baghdad, Bush talks to generals (ironic headline)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061212/ts_nm/iraq_dc

Bomber kills 70 in Baghdad, Bush talks to generals

By Ross Colvin 1 hour, 29 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber targeting poor laborers killed 70 people in Baghdad on Tuesday, a day when
President Bush was talking to his military chiefs in
Iraq to help him draft a new U.S. strategy.


A White House official said Bush, who faces popular pressure for a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops, was likely to delay unveiling a new strategy until early in January, instead of late this year as originally planned.

The top U.S. operational commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, said before briefing Bush in a video teleconference that U.S. forces should stay in Iraq until Iraqi forces were ready to assume security control.

"We can't give in to terrorists. How can we allow that to occur? This is the most important conflict we have been involved in the last 50 years," Chiarelli told reporters in Baghdad............

[antiimperialist]

13. In total, least 129 died today in Iraq

Counting victims is sad, but it has to be done. I counted 129.
You do your own math:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO232708.htm

[antiimperialist]

14. CNN doesn't know about the bombs

Nothing in their website as of 2:00 PM new york time:

www.cnn.com

[phusion]

15. It's a 9/11 every week in Iraq...

Imagine living in that constant state of panic for the past 4 years.

:(