9 killed in attacks across Baghdad

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least nine people were killed in Baghdad Thursday as a bomb tore through a minibus in a predominantly Shiite commercial district and mortars hit a Sunni area, officials said.

The bombing of the minibus killed at least six and wounded eight, police said. It struck at noon in the district of Karradah, which has been hit by several bombings in recent weeks as insurgents try to maximize the number of people killed before a planned U.S.-security crackdown.

A suicide car bombing devastated the area less than a week ago, killing some 30 people.

Mortar rounds slammed into a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad for the third day in a row, killing at least three people and wounding 10, hospital officials said.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070201/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[maddezmom]

1. Attacks, bombings kill 62 across Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Thursday in a crowded outdoor market in a Shiite city south of Baghdad, killing 45 people and wounding 15, police said. The attackers strolled into the Maktabat outdoor market in the center of Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad, about 6 p.m. as shoppers were buying food for their evening meals. Police thought one of the men appeared suspicious and stopped him, according to police.

The bomber then detonated his explosives. The second attacker who was walking behind him then set off his own explosives belt, police added.

Hillah was the scene of one of the deadliest attacks in the Iraq war, when a suicide car bomber killed 125 people on Feb. 28, 2005.

Meanwhile Iraq had invited neighboring countries, including U.S. rivals Iran and Syria, to a meeting on security next month in Baghdad, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, while bombings and mortar attacks tore through Shiite

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070201/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[leftyladyfrommo]

2. What an awful depressing day. I just can't imagine what it

is like to try and live in Baghdad and surrounding areas. Those people are not safe even trying to buy food. It is unspeakable.

[Heidi]

3. Kick.

:kick:

[maddezmom]

4. 70 killed in Iraq attacks

HILLA, Iraq (AFP) - At least 70 people were killed in Iraq, while security officials said bitter sectarian attacks had claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 civilians throughout the country in January.

In deserted southern Iraq, a grave containing the remains of 200 to 250 Kurds was discovered near the border with Saudi Arabia, a provincial official told AFP.

A media watchdog group added that at least 65 media workers were killed and 20 kidnapped in the country in 2006, the most lethal year since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Two suicide bombers killed 57 people and wounded 138 when they struck a packed market in the centre of Hilla, the predominantly Shiite capital of Babil province south of Baghdad, security and medical sources said.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070201/wl_afp/iraqunrest_070201182428

[maddezmom]

5. 130 killed in attacks across Iraq

By Robert H. Reid, Associated Press Writer | February 2, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq --A pair of suicide bombers detonated explosives Thursday among shoppers in a crowded outdoor market in a Shiite city south of Baghdad, killing at least 73 people and wounding 163, police said. Bombs and a mortar attack killed at least 17 others in both Shiite and Sunni areas of Baghdad.

Overall, about 130 people were killed or found dead across the country, reflecting the ongoing wave of sectarian and insurgency bloodletting as the U.S. military gears up for a major security operation to stem the violence.

The U.S. military also said Friday it was investigating reports of a U.S. helicopter going down north of Baghdad.

The statement came after police and witnesses reported that at least one helicopter had been shot down Friday in the area surrounding Taji, an air base 12 miles north of the capital. Some witnesses described two helicopters going down.

more:http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/02/02/130_killed_in_attacks_across_iraq/