Dozens killed in Baghdad blasts
As many as 42 people have been killed and up to 224 injured in a series of explosions that have rocked central Baghdad.
The first bomb appeared to have been packed into an ambulance, which was detonated as it entered the gates of the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
At least three other bombs exploded in the Iraqi capital within an hour.
The blasts follow a rocket attack on the Rashid Hotel on Sunday. The hotel is a base for US deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz. The attack left one person dead and 17 injured.
The attack on the ICRC occurred at about 08:30 local time (05:30 GMT). Twelve people died in the attack. Several cars were left ablaze and black smoke billowed from the building. The driver of the vehicle that exploded is believed to have been killed.
An apparent suicide car bomb attack took place outside a police station in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, reportedly killing four police officers and three civilians.
At least 27 people died in three separate attacks on Baghdad police stations.
The US military confirmed that three US soldiers had been killed and two wounded in two further attacks that took place overnight in Iraq.
The series of explosions took place on the first day of the Muslim fasting festival of Ramadan. The coalition took the decision to temporarily lift the curfew on Iraqi citizens as a mark of respect.
The bombing of the ICRC has been heavily criticised. Tony Blair called the blasts “evil and unwarranted” and foreign secretary Jack Straw added that he was “disgusted” by the attack on an aid agency.
Coalition spokesman Lieutentant Colonel David Reynolds said: “This is a black day for Baghdad.
“Committed terrorists prepared to give their lives are very difficult to stop. These people have refused to accept that Iraq is free.”
ICRC chief spokeswoman Antonella Notari said the organisation was “deeply shocked” by the attack and called it: “A deliberate attack against our protective emblem and against our work.”
The attacks are thought to represent the single biggest day of casualties in an attack aimed at the Coalition since the end of the Iraq war on May 1st.
Many aid agencies scaled back their work in Iraq following a bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad this August that killed 23 people including the UN’s top envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Coalition troops are still struggling to control outbreaks of violence in Iraq. A total of 112 US soldiers have been killed since the end of major hostilities was declared.
