Deadly blast hits Iraqi province

22/05/2010| IslamWeb

At least 30 people have been killed after a minivan packed with explosives blew up at a crowded market in Iraq's troubled northern Diyala province, police and officials said.

The attack on Friday also left 80 people wounded near a crowded cafe just steps from the headquarters of a police rapid-response unit in the town of Khalis, about 80km north of Baghdad, police said.

The bomb exploded around sunset when the area was filled with shoppers.

"The blast was severe. Many shops were destroyed and the roofs collapsed," Abdul Jabar Ihmoid, a police lieutenant, said.

"The roof of the coffee shop, which was full of people, also collapsed. We believe there are people still under the debris."

"The day the election results were announced there were twin bombings in Khalis, killing almost 50 people.

Tensions have been running high since an inconclusive March 7 parliamentary election left a power vacuum and raised concerns about a renewal of sectarian violence.

The election has yet to be certified and talks to form a new government could take weeks.

Attacks have killed hundreds of people in recent weeks. Another car bombing on Friday in the town of Nimrud, just south of the northern city of Mosul, wounded seven people, police said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Car bomb at market in central Iraqi city

A car bomb at a market in the central Iraqi city of Khales killed at least 23 people and wounded 55 others on Friday.

Al-Jazeera