At least 42 people have died and 80 were hurt in three car bombings in the centre of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Two of the blasts went off within 10 minutes of each other at 0800 (0400GMT) at the busy Nahda bus station. The third blast happened on the road to a nearby hospital some 15 minutes later, just as victims of the first two attacks were being brought in. All three attacks were less than 30 minutes apart, and police say their apparent co-ordination and planning means casualty figures are almost certain to rise.
The bus station serves various parts of the country and would normally have been crowded with travellers at the time of the attacks, says the BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Baghdad. One eyewitness told Reuters news agency they saw a coach blow up. "We heard an explosion in the garage, we went there and ran towards the buses for Kut, Basra and Amara," said Ahmed Jabur. "A coach blew up. When we were leaving, another one blew up in the middle of police cars." Blazing buses and bodies were strewn across the road, and police and civilian vehicles were damaged in the blast. The majority of victims appeared to be civilians, many of whom were trapped on buses. |