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| Explosion at Iraq parliament cafe | Explosion at Iraq parliament cafe |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| An explosion has hit a cafeteria at the Iraqi parliament, killing at least two MPs and injuring several other people, witnesses have said. | |
| The cafeteria is reserved for MPs and their staff, some of whom were having lunch there when the blast happened. | The cafeteria is reserved for MPs and their staff, some of whom were having lunch there when the blast happened. |
| The building, where parliament was in session, is located inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. | The building, where parliament was in session, is located inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. |
| Earlier, a bomb on a bridge in Baghdad killed at least eight people and sent several cars into the River Tigris. | Earlier, a bomb on a bridge in Baghdad killed at least eight people and sent several cars into the River Tigris. |
| Click here for a aerial map of the Green Zone | |
| The bridge and the cafeteria attacks are major blows to the much trumpeted Baghdad security surge now in its third month, the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says. | |
| The security drive has brought down the rate of sectarian murders, but it has not stopped the bomb attacks. | |
| Chaos | |
| MP Mohammed Hassan Awad from the National Dialogue bloc (a Sunni group not part of the government) was killed in the blast. | |
| Another MP was also killed and at least three more parliamentarians were injured in the blast, a police source told the BBC, adding the police believed the total number of casualties may be much higher. | |
| We saw lots of smoke coming from the hall, with people lying on the ground and pools of blood Parliamentary official | We saw lots of smoke coming from the hall, with people lying on the ground and pools of blood Parliamentary official |
| The blast may have been caused by a bomb left in or near the cafeteria rather than by a suicide bomber, the source said. | |
| The security around the parliament building and around the whole of the Green Zone is extremely tight, so it is very hard to see how a bomb could have been smuggled in there, says our correspondent. | |
| The bomb went off 10 minutes after the parliament had adjourned for lunch. | |
| It exploded in the cafeteria on the first floor where the deputies, their staff and parliamentary officials were taking their break. | |
| Windows were blown out, there was chaos and confusion. | |
| One witness said there were many casualties, but most telecommunications were disrupted and no clear figures were available. | |
| "We heard a huge explosion inside the restaurant," a parliamentary official at the scene told Reuters news agency. | "We heard a huge explosion inside the restaurant," a parliamentary official at the scene told Reuters news agency. |
| "We went to see what was going on. We saw lots of smoke coming from the hall, with people lying on the ground and pools of blood." | "We went to see what was going on. We saw lots of smoke coming from the hall, with people lying on the ground and pools of blood." |
| Condemnation | |
| It is the first time a bomb has gone off inside the parliament building although it has been shaken by several mortar attacks in the past. | |
| Access to the building itself is subject to very tight additional security measures. | |
| Several of its members have been assassinated outside the Green Zone | |
| The bombing of the Sarafiya bridge, one of the main arterial bridges in Baghdad itself, had been condemned by the speaker of parliament just a very short time before the explosion in his own building. | The bombing of the Sarafiya bridge, one of the main arterial bridges in Baghdad itself, had been condemned by the speaker of parliament just a very short time before the explosion in his own building. |
| The bridge, one of the main linking the two halves of the capital across the Tigris river, was partially demolished by a huge truck bomb. | |
| Click to return | |
| Are you in Iraq? Do you know anyone who has been affected by the bomb blasts? Send us your comments. | Are you in Iraq? Do you know anyone who has been affected by the bomb blasts? Send us your comments. |