53 killed in Iraq attacks

An Iraqi soldier guards the scene of a car bombing in the Al-Nahda bus station which links the capital with the predominantly Shiite regions to the south of Baghdad yesterday. Three car bombs exploded minutes apart at a busy bus station and near a hospital during morning rush hour in the centre of the Iraqi capital, killing at least 43 people and 65 wounded. PHOTO: AFP

Iraqi authorities said the bombings were aimed at terrorising people and triggering a collapse of the government.

The attacks, which broke a brief lull in major insurgent violence, came two days after politicians failed to draft a new constitution because of sharp differences on key issues, raising concerns of fresh political turmoil.

Two car bombs exploded 10 minutes apart at the bus station in the central district of Al-Nahda and a third exploded near Al-Kindi hospital in the same neighbourhood.

One of the bombs at the Al-Nahda bus station left a two-meter wide crater on the road, while mangled remains of a police car could be seen lying on top of another vehicle.

At least three buses were gutted by fire. The vehicles would have been packed with passengers at the time of the explosion.

Al-Nahda is a major bus station which links the capital with the predominantly Shiite regions to the south of Baghdad.

The third car bomb exploded in a leafy part of the neighbourhood where people usually seek shade in the blazing heat of Baghdad's summer, especially during the rush-hour.

Police fired warning shots to try to evacuate the area, fearful of suicide bombers targeting the gathering crowds.

The bombings seemed clearly aimed at killing as many civilians as possible. Most rebel attacks usually target Iraq's fledgling security forces.

"One aim of the bombers is to put fear in the hearts of Iraqi people and the other intention is to trigger a government collapse," government spokesman Leith Kubba said on state-owned Iraqia television.