Five car bombs, other explosions rock Baghdad area

By JPOST.COM STAFF, AP
Toward noon, five mortar rounds could be heard slamming to earth in quick succession in southeastern Baghdad, but there were no immediate details on targets or casualties. A few minutes earlier a suicide car bomber struck a police patrol near al-Mustansiriyah University in eastern Baghdad, killing two policemen and wounding three, according to police Capt. Ahmed Qassim A car bomb targeting a police patrol killed at least one person and injured three south of Baghdad, police said. The explosion happened in Mahmoudiya, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, said police Capt. Rashid al-Samaraie. A woman bystander was killed and two policemen were among the wounded, he said. Earlier today, three other car bombs exploded. One went off in a market in Baqouba, a city 36 miles (60 km) north of Baghdad, killing five and injuring fifteen. Another suicide car bomber hit an Interior Ministry convoy in eastern Baghdad, killing two members of the security force and injuring three, police said. A car bomb targeting a police patrol exploded in downtown, injuring at least seven people, police said. The wounded included four policemen and three civilian bystanders. Two bombs went off in Baghdad's notorious southern Dora neighborhood. One targeted an Interior Ministry patrol, wounding one commando, police said. A second went off as a US patrol was passing, injuring five policemen who were guarding a bank and two civilians, said al-Mohammedawi. There were no immediate reports of US casualties. An earlier explosion near the Shiite Buratha mosque in northern Baghdad caused no casualties, police said.