Iraqi police: Bombs kill 4 in eastern Baghdad and Mosul

Bomb was likely aimed at a passing police patrol, but missed its target - hitting the minibus behind it instead.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
iraq bombing us soldier (photo credit: AP)
iraq bombing us soldier
(photo credit: AP)
Roadside bombs exploded next to two minibuses ferrying Iraqi laborers to work early Saturday, killing at least four people in separate attacks, police said. The first explosion killed two people and wounded nine around 6:15 a.m. in Baghdad's Baladiyat area, just east of Sadr City, police said. Like Sadr City, the area is predominantly Shiite. The bomb was likely aimed at a passing police patrol, but missed its target - hitting the minibus behind it instead, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Most of the victims were in the minibus, but some others had been riding in a pickup truck nearby, he added. One of them was Qais Hassoun, who spoke to Associated Press Television News at a hospital in Sadr City, where the victims were taken. "We are just construction workers, trying to get to our jobs. We were riding in the minibus when the explosion went off," Hassoun said, visibly shaken. Footage of the blast site showed a blue minibus with its windows shattered and tires shredded. Blood was splashed across the vehicle's upholstered bench seats. Other victims lay on gurneys in a crowded, grimy hospital corridor. One man laid on his back while medical workers wrapped white gauze up the length of his broken leg. About three hours later, another roadside bomb exploded near a minibus in western Mosul, killing two passengers and wounding 15 other people in the area, police said. Mosul lies 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad.