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Iraq bombs leave at least 38 dead Iraq bomb attacks claim 44 lives
(about 2 hours later)
A bomb has exploded at a busy Baghdad market, killing 24 people and injuring more than 35, Iraqi police say. A wave of bombings in Iraq, including one at a busy Baghdad market and another an army and police recruitment centre, has left 44 people dead.
Witnesses said body parts and debris were strewn across the Shurja market, a scene of frequent attacks. The blast at the Shurja market killed 24 people and injured 35, police said.
At least two people died in a separate blast in the capital, while a bomb at an army recruitment centre in the town of Hilla killed 12 people, police said. Other blasts and shootings were also reported in the Iraqi capital, while in the town of Hilla a bomb killed 12 people queuing to join the police.
Hilla, the capital of the mixed Sunni and Shia province of Babel, has been frequently targeted by insurgents. The Baghdad blasts come amid a joint US-Iraqi security clampdown that officials insist is working.
Wednesday's blasts are the latest in a series of attacks which have killed dozens of people across Iraq since the weekend.
They come against a background of a joint US and Iraqi security clampdown that officials insist is working.
It probably does not feel that way to Baghdad 's citizens, says the BBC's world affairs correspondent Nick Childs.It probably does not feel that way to Baghdad 's citizens, says the BBC's world affairs correspondent Nick Childs.
The latest bombings, particularly in the capital, he says, look like by further attempts by insurgents in a political war of nerves to disprove US and Iraqi assertions. The latest bombings, particularly in the capital, he says, look like further attempts by insurgents in a political war of nerves to disprove US and Iraqi assertions.
Renewed attackRenewed attack
The roadside bomb went off at the Shurja market at about 1000 local time (0600 GMT), police said. A roadside bomb went off at the Shurja market, a teeming maze of shops and stalls, at about 1000 local time (0600 GMT), when it was full of shoppers and traders, police said.
"There are patches of blood everywhere in the area and firefighters are fighting to quell the fire, as many shops are burning," a police officer told the French news agency AFP. "There are patches of blood everywhere in the area and firefighters are fighting to quell the fire, as many shops are burning," a police officer told the French news agency AFP shortly after the explosion.
The blast also injured at least 38 people, according to officials. Shurja is one of the country's best-known markets and attracts buyers and sellers from all over Iraq.
Shurja, a teeming maze of streets and stalls, is one of Baghdad's biggest markets.
It has been attacked before. A blast there three weeks ago left 10 people dead.It has been attacked before. A blast there three weeks ago left 10 people dead.
Also on Wednesday, a petrol station in the capital was bombed, leaving at least two people dead. In other violence:
Just hours earlier, at about 0800 (0400 GMT) , a crowd had gathered outside an army recruitment centre in Hilla when a bomb exploded.
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  • A car bomb exploded as police responded to a smaller blast near a petrol station in Baghdad, killing three people and injuring 21
  • A senior justice ministry official, Nadia Mohammed, was shot dead along with her bodyguard and driver in the west of the capital
  • Gunmen shot dead three textile workers travelling to work in a taxi in west Baghdad, according to police
  • A roadside bomb struck a car carrying a family of five in Buhriz, 60km (36 miles) north-east of Baghdad, killing everyone inside, police said
  • Clashes between Iraqi police and people turned away from an army recruitment centre in Samawa left one person dead
  • A US marine was killed in the western province of Anbar on Tuesday, the US military announced
A police spokesman said it was believed the bomb was attached to a bicycle or motorcycle. At about 0800 (0400 GMT) on Wednesday, men were queuing at the recruitment centre in Hilla, 120km (75 miles) south of Baghdad, to apply for police jobs when a bomb exploded.
The town of Hilla has seen much bloodshed and loss The device had been left on a parked bicycle, a police spokesman said.
Recruitment centres for the Iraqi army and police have been frequent targets for insurgents.Recruitment centres for the Iraqi army and police have been frequent targets for insurgents.
Hilla was the scene of the bloodiest single attack in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, when about 125 people were killed by a suicide bomber in February 2005. Hilla, the capital of the mixed Sunni and Shia province of Babel, has been frequently targeted by insurgents.
It was the scene of the bloodiest single attack in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, when about 125 people were killed by a suicide bomber in February 2005.