Saturday, June 17, 2006

The Curfew and Giant Clamp Down in Baghdad is working .....

Series of explosions rip through Baghdad, other parts of Iraq to kill nearly two dozen people

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A series of explosions ripped throught Baghdad on Saturday to bring the death toll around Iraq to at least 23 people, a day after a suspected shoe bomber blew himself up inside one of Baghdad's most prominent Shiite mosques, killing 13 people.

A total of seven blasts occurred within a span of five hours and dealt a new blow to a massive security operation launched earlier this week by the Iraqi government to secure the capital.

The violence included a suicide car bomber who exploded his vehicle as it was being towed near a police checkpoint in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, killing four civilians and wounding 15, Capt. Rashid al-Samarie said. The bomber had claimed his car had broken down and hired a tractor to tow it while he rode inside, al-Samarie said.

A mortar barrage also hit a residential area in Mahmoudiya, a predominantly Sunni city about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding three others, all from the same family, al-Samarie said.

A soldier in the U.S.-led coalition also was killed Friday and two others were missing after an attack on a checkpoint near the town of Youssifiyah, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.......

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