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| Iraq |
| Car bomb rips through south Iraq market, 32 killed |
| 2009-06-10 |
| A car bomb ripped through a crowded market in southern Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 32 people, and wounding 70, officials said. Police locked down Al-Bathaa, a Shi'ite Muslim town 30 km (20 miles) west of Nassariya that has seen little violence, while hospital officials appealed for assistance from neighboring cities to help them cope with the wounded. Colonel Aziz al-Atabi, media director for the Iraqi army's 10th division, said 32 people had been killed and 70 wounded. Pictures posted online by local journalists showed the charred wreck of a car the bomb was planted in, burned body parts and bloodstained rags among vegetables strewn on the floor. High school teacher Hussein Salim said the market was supposed to be guarded by the police. He said he rushed to the scene and helped gather body parts, some of which had been blown onto the roof of nearby homes. "How could the car enter the market? It was crowded with people ... The police neglected their job," he said. "I saw five children and six women among the dead." Angry locals protested when the area's police chief and governor arrived on the scene, Salim said. This prompted the governor's bodyguards to open fire though it was it was unclear if the shots were aimed at the crowd or in the ai |
| Posted by:ed |