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Dozens killed in Baghdad bombing | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
At least 57 people have been killed and more than 220 injured after a suicide attacker detonated a large bomb in a central Baghdad square. | |
The man detonated an explosives-packed pick-up truck after reportedly attracting crowds of Shia labourers to his vehicle with the promise of work. | |
Earlier reports of a near-simultaneous explosion could not be confirmed. | |
The BBC's Andrew North in Baghdad says this appears to be the latest violence in a spiral of sectarian attacks. | The BBC's Andrew North in Baghdad says this appears to be the latest violence in a spiral of sectarian attacks. |
The blast in Tayaran square happened at about 0700 (0400 GMT), at a time when it was crowded with day labourers from the Shia suburb of Sadr City who gather there every day hoping to find work. | |
After the explosion, not a single person in the square was standing, I thought everyone was dead Khaled NasserWitness Pictures from the blast | After the explosion, not a single person in the square was standing, I thought everyone was dead Khaled NasserWitness Pictures from the blast |
"After the explosion, not a single person in the square was standing, I thought everyone was dead," Khaled Nasser, a labourer, told the AFP news agency. | "After the explosion, not a single person in the square was standing, I thought everyone was dead," Khaled Nasser, a labourer, told the AFP news agency. |
He said his friends were "all cut in half, no legs, and for some I could only find their heads". | He said his friends were "all cut in half, no legs, and for some I could only find their heads". |
Mangled bodies were piled up by the roadside, some of them covered with paper, Associated Press reported. | |
Bloodied survivors were seen weeping or walking in a daze. Witnesses described thick, black smoke rising from the site. | Bloodied survivors were seen weeping or walking in a daze. Witnesses described thick, black smoke rising from the site. |
Gunfire could be heard immediately after the explosion but it is not clear if this was the work of insurgent snipers or police. | |
Known tactic | |
The square has been targeted by bombers before. Correspondents say it is a tactic used to ensure the greatest number of casualties. | |
Hospitals were crowded with victims of the bombings | |
High unemployment and the collapse of Iraq's economy has increased the number of people dependent on such jobs. | High unemployment and the collapse of Iraq's economy has increased the number of people dependent on such jobs. |
The square is also located near several government ministries and a bridge which crosses the Tigris River to the heavily fortified Green Zone. | |
Last month saw some of the bloodiest sectarian violence in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003. Correspondents say the city is gripped by a series of tit-for-tat sectarian killings. | |
On Monday, at least 66 people were killed or found dead in the Baghdad area and northern Iraq, AP reported. | |
They included 46 men who were shot in the capital - the apparent victims of sectarian death squads. | |
While suicide bombings are the hallmark of the Sunni insurgency, Iraq's Shia militia groups have been blamed for operating death squads responsible for hundreds of abductions and executions. | While suicide bombings are the hallmark of the Sunni insurgency, Iraq's Shia militia groups have been blamed for operating death squads responsible for hundreds of abductions and executions. |