At least 62 killed, 180 injured in Baghdad twin bombings

At least 62 people were killed and some 180 others injured in twin truck bombings near government buildings in downtown Baghdad on Sunday, an Interior Ministry source said.

"The ministry reports said that 62 were killed and some 180 wounded by the blasts in Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The first explosion took place at about 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) when a suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with explosives near the building of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice in Salhiyah district and blew it up, causing severe damages to the building and other surrounding buildings, the source said.

Shortly after, a second truck bomb struck the building of Baghdad Provincial Council about 500 meters away from the first blast which is also close to the Mansour Hotel where many foreign media and companies live, the source added.

A witness who only gave his name as Lace said he saw debris of corpse everywhere at the explosion scene and people fled in disorder.

Xinhua correspondent at the scene said that dozens of civilian cars were destroyed and many turned to twisted metals by the powerful blasts that also damaged water pipes, causing dirty water to flow out to the street.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene and fire engines arrived to put out fires as columns of black smoke rise above the scene, he said.

The two attacks appear to be the biggest since the deadly attacks on Aug. 19 when suicide truck bomb attacks targeted two Iraqi ministries, killing and wounding some 1,300 Iraqis.

Source: Xinhua