Iraqis mourn the death
of their relative outside Baghdad's al-Kindi
hospital.
Bomb blasts ripped through two popular pet markets in Baghdad on
Friday, killing 72 people in the deadliest attacks in the city in
six months and dealing a bitter blow to Iraqi hopes that security
is getting better.
Police said a female suicide bomber killed 45 people and wounded
82 at the Ghazil pet market in central Baghdad.
Another blast shortly after, caused either by a roadside bomb or
a second female suicide bomber, killed 27 people and wounded 67 at
a bird market in southern Baghdad, they said.
An Iraqi soldier
secures the site of a suicide attack in Baghdad's Al-Ghazl
market.
While attacks have continued to fall across Iraq in recent
months, the latest blasts underscore US military warnings that a
return to the violence that took Iraq to the brink of sectarian
civil war is still possible.
At the Ghazil market, one of Baghdad's most popular gathering
places and which has been bombed at least three times in the past
year, people stared at the destruction as workers swept up body
parts and blood-stained animal boxes.
"I was right there at the scene when the blast happened. It
knocked me over. When I managed to get up, I saw dozens had been
killed and wounded," said witness Abu Haider, who was covered in
blood as he stood among ruined stalls and carcasses of birds and
other animals.
One witness said the female bomber entered the market saying she
had birds to sell. Scores of people gathered and then the bomb
underneath her clothing went off, the witness said.
Police said the second attack was caused by a roadside bomb.
But Major-General Qassim Moussawi, spokesman for the Iraqi
military in Baghdad, said in both attacks women had been loaded
with explosives which were then detonated remotely.
"We found the mobiles used to detonate the women," he said.
Ambulances tried to push through packed streets to get to Ghazil
after the blast.
An Iraqi soldier
inspects a pool of blood at the site of a suicide attack in
Baghdad's Al-Ghazl market.
Violence has fallen sharply across Iraq, with the number of
attacks down 60 percent since last June, allowing Iraqis to venture
out to markets and restaurants as they attempt to return to a
semblance of normal life.
On Thursday, Iraqi government figures showed that 466 Iraqi
civilians had died violently in January, more than 76 percent lower
than the 1,971 killed in January 2007.
(China Daily via Agencies February 2, 2008)
