Suicide bombers kill 45 in Iraq

BAGHDAD - Suicide bombings killed 45 people and injured 46 others in a day of sustained violence in Iraq yesterday, while 27 mutilated corpses were discovered in a further example of the carnage sweeping through the country.

Al Qaeda in Iraq, which had said it had carried out yesterday's hotel blasts in neighbouring Jordan, also claimed responsibility for yesterday's attack in Baghdad, one of the biggest in recent months.

A suicide bomber blew himself up after walking into a busy city centre restaurant, the Qaduri, killing 35 people and injuring 25 more, just after 9.40 in the morning.

Seven of the dead were among a group of Iraqi policemen and soldiers having breakfast.

The scene in the aftermath of the blast was one of devastation with the emergency services dragging out bloody, dismembered bodies.

One police officer, Rashid Ibrahim, said: "We are collecting arms and legs. A lot of the wounded are in very bad state and may not survive."

Samiya Mohammed, who lives nearby, had rushed outside when she heard the explosion.

She said: "There were bodies, mostly civilians, and blood everywhere inside the place. They only targeted and hurt innocent people having their breakfast.

"There were no Americans in the area. I do not understand why most of the time it is the Iraqis who are killed".

An hour later, another suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a queue at an army recruiting centre at Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, killing 10 and injuring 21 more.

The men were former members of the army who had been dismissed under the 'de-Baathification' programme instituted by the US authorities, but had since then been asked to rejoin in an attempt to bolster the Iraqi forces in the face of unrelenting insurgency.

- INDEPENDENT