A suspected car bomb ripped through a central Baghdad square today, with witnesses reporting many casualties. The explosion set a dozen cars ablaze and sent black smoke billowing into the air, witnesses said. An AFP correspondent on the scene saw bodies littering the pavement, which had been packed with shoppers when the attack happened about 11.30am (1930 AEDT). Doctor Anwar Barnouti, who runs a clinic nearby, said "my clinic shook and is now filled with sand and dust. There is no obvious target in the area. This is a commercial district of doctors, lawyers and shopkeepers." The US military had no information on the blast. Twisted metal and shards of glass littered the commercial Saadoun Street district as police cars rushed to the scene. A car bomb near the Culture Ministry in Baghdad killed seven people yesterday.
| The Culture Ministry? Well, that's kinda apropos... |
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