Twin Baghdad bombings kill 155

• Source: Global Times
• [03:58 October 26 2009]
• Comments

An Iraqi man weeps as he walks away from the ministries of justice and labor following a suicide bombing Sunday. Twin suicide car bombs blasted government offices in central Baghdad. Photo: AFP

Two suicide bombs tore through Baghdad Sunday, killing 155 people, wounding more than 500 and damaging the offices of the Chinese embassy and Xinhua News Agency, though no staff members were hurt, according to reports.

While violence has lessened dramatically in the country since the height of the sectarian tensions, such bombings as Sunday's demonstrate the precarious nature of the security gains, according to AFP.

The two blasts shredded buildings, and smoke billowed from the area near the Tigris River. The first bomb targeted the Justice Ministry and the second, minutes later, was aimed at the nearby provincial government building, police said.

The al-Mansour hotel, which stands 50 meters from the blast and houses the Chinese embassy and a Xinhua office, was also damaged.

"The glass doors were blown open, the ceilings fell in huge blocks, and the passages and corridors were full of smoke," Xinhua reporter Gao Shan was quoted by the agency as saying.

Two cooks employed at the hotel were slightly injured, although no personnel of the Chinese embassy or Xinhua suffered injuries, Gao said.