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Dozens killed in Baghdad attacks | |
(20 minutes later) | |
Car bombs and and a barrage of mortars have killed at least 45 people and wounded almost 300 in the centre of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials say. | |
One car reportedly exploded outside the foreign ministry near the outside edge of the heavily guarded government Green Zone, reportedly leaving a huge crater. | |
Another went off close to the finance ministry building. | Another went off close to the finance ministry building. |
Iraq has witnessed a reduction in insurgency violence recently, but attacks remain common in some cities. | Iraq has witnessed a reduction in insurgency violence recently, but attacks remain common in some cities. |
Baghdad has seen several attacks since Iraqi forces took over responsibility for security in the city. | |
However, our correspondent Natalia Antelava, in Baghdad, notes that most of the attacks targeted poor Shia neighbourhoods. These are the first co-ordinated strikes against central areas of the city, she says. | |
Shattered glass | |
Two huge bombs hidden in vehicles went off near the ministries on Wednesday morning, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky, officials said. | |
At least three further blasts - possibly mortars - also went off inside the Green Zone. | |
The full picture remains unclear at present but at least 45 people are thought to have been killed, with hundreds wounded. | |
The violence comes exactly six years after one of the first major attacks in Iraq after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. | |
On 19 August 2003, the UN headquarters in Baghdad was hit by a suicide truck bomb, killing 22 people in what was the most deadly attack up until that point following the US-led invasion earlier that year. | |
In the past six years, tens of thousands of have been killed in the violence that followed. | In the past six years, tens of thousands of have been killed in the violence that followed. |
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