Attacks continue in Baghdad
Suicide bombing at funeral is latest in string of blasts in and around Iraqi capital.
Chlorine gas poisoning
Outside Baghdad, about 150 people were hospitalised complaining of breathing problems, vomiting and other ailments after a truck carrying a chlorine-based substance was hit by a roadside bomb on Tuesday north of Baghdad.
Your Views |
“Has any of the Bush Iraq plans worked other than causing the worst destruction?” Zaffar Zohair, Islamabad, Pakistan |
Five people died in the blast and the others were treated after being exposed to fumes and debris near Taji, about 20km northwest of Baghdad. All those treated were in stable condition.
More than 100 people have been killed in the Baghdad area since Sunday in a direct challenge to efforts by US and Iraqi forces to restore some authority on the streets.
Later, a car bomb hit a vegetable market near a predominantly Shia area in southern Baghdad. At least five people were killed and seven injured, police said.
US outpost attacked
The US military confirmed late on Monday that two soldiers had been killed in a “co-ordinated attack on a coalition force combat outpost” in Tarmiyah, about 30km north of Baghdad.
The combat outposts have been created in several districts as part of Operation Imposing Law. US troops conduct operations from them rather than returning to military bases.
“Insurgents initiated the attack on the outpost with a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonation,” a US statement said.
Witnesses and local authorities said at least one car was driven into the concrete outer barriers around the base, a former Iraqi police station, igniting stored fuel before troops came under fire from an armed group.
Mohammed al-Askari, spokesman for Iraq‘s defence ministry, blamed the attack on al-Qaida in Iraq.