Car bombs targeting Baghdad government kill 74

[unhappycamper]

Iraqis gather at the site of a massive bomb attack in Baghdad on Sunday.


Car bombs targeting Baghdad government kill 74
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press Writer
Oct 25, 6:48 AM EDT

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Two powerful car bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 74 people in an apparent attempt to target the fragile city's government offices, Iraqi authorities said.

While violence has dropped dramatically in the country since the height of the sectarian tensions, such bombings like Sunday's demonstrate the precarious nature of the security gains and the insurgency's abilities to still pull off devastating attacks in the heart of what is supposed to be one of Baghdad's most secure areas.

In August, coordinated blasts against two ministries killed more than 100 people.

Sunday's explosions, which also injured at least 260 people, went off less than a minute apart near two prominent government institutions - the Ministry of Justice and the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration - in a neighborhood that houses a number of government institutions such as the Ministry of Labor.

The area is just a few hundred yards from the heavily protected Green Zone that houses the U.S. Embassy as well as the offices of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.


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