Baghdad blasts kill 200

Updated 22.29 Wed Apr 18 2007

Keywords: Karradah, Sunni, Shia, car bomb, Iraq

Almost 200 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in a series of massive car bomb exposions in Iraq.

In the deadliest blast, a parked car blew up in Sadriya market in the centre of the capital Baghdad killing at least 140 people and wounding 139. Many of the dead are reported to be women and children.

Witnesses said dozens of bodies could be seen at the busy intersection which is near a popular market in the Shi'ite stronghold

An hour earlier, a suicide car bomber had crashed into an Iraqi checkpoint at an entrance to Sadr City, killing 35 people.

Witnesses said dozens of bodies could be seen at the busy intersection which is near a popular market in the Shi'ite stronghold after the bomb detonated in a traffic jam of several civilian cars, destroying at least eight vehicles.

Meanwhile, a vehicle which was parked near a private hospital in the neighbourhood of Karradah exploded and killed 11 people and wounded 13.

Another blast occurred on a minibus in the northwestern Risafi area, killing four people.

One witness said: "I saw dozens of dead bodies. Some people were burned alive inside minibuses. Nobody could reach them after the explosion."

The explosions came just hours after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said his forces will take over security from US-led forces by the end of the year.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett condemned the series of bombings saying the day of "carnage" showed how desperate insurgents are to undermine the fledgeling democracy.

Mrs Beckett said: "This latest carnage in Baghdad is another appalling example of the lengths to which those who offer only death and destruction will go to in trying to undermine democracy in Iraq."

She added: "My thoughts are with the families and friends of those killed and injured in these horrific attacks. Such acts only strengthen our determination to continue to support the people and government of Iraq and underline the importance of the reconciliation process."

The attacks are likely to inflame sectarian tension, especially among the Mehdi Army militia of anti-US Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which has been keeping a low profile since the recent security crackdown in Baghdad began.

On Monday, Sadr withdrew his six ministers from Mr Maliki's cabinet to press for a pull-out timetable for the 146,000 US troops in Iraq.