Dozens of Iraqis killed as Maliki seeks reshuffle cabinet

Source: Xinhuanet | 11-13-2006 08:17

Iraqis inspect the wreckage of a car at the site where a car bomb exploded at a neighbourhood in central Baghdad, Nov. 12, 2006.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

BAGHDAD, Nov. 12 (Xinhua)-- The death toll has risen to 49 Iraqis in the latest spate of violence in Iraq on Sunday, and some 111 others wounded, as the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he wanted to overhaul his cabinet considering "the current situation."

While al-Maliki seeking to reshuffle his cabinet, an Interior Ministry source said that a suicide bomber blew up his explosive-belt among a crowd volunteers who came up to join the Iraqi police commandos in a recruitment center near the al-Nusour Square in Baghdad's western al-Qadsiyah neighborhood, killing some 35 people and wounding about 60 others.

At the same time, there was another powerful explosion, said the source, but he could not confirm whether it was caused by another suicide bomber or by a mortar round attack.

In a separate incident, a car bomb went off near the al-Thawra primary school in Yousifiyah town, 20 km south of Baghdad, killing three pupils and wounding 15 others, along with damaging part of the school building.

Moreover, another car bomb struck Irkhietah popular marketplace in Baghdad's central district of Karradah, killing two civilians and wounding seven others.

On Sunday afternoon, a coordinated double blast of a car bomb and a roadside bomb hit central Baghdad, killing a total of three people , including a policeman, and wounding seven others, among them two policemen, the police said.

A parking car bomb went off at a busy area in the Fanarah district near the Taiyran Square. Some minutes later, a roadside bomb detonated when police patrol arrived to the scene of the first blast, according to the sources.

Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb went off at the Muhammad al-Qasim highway in eastern Baghdad, killing four people and wounding10 others and damaging several civilian cars.

Elsewhere, a roadside bomb detonated on a main road in the Radhwaniyah area in southwestern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 13 others. Several civilian cars were damaged by the blast.

Separately in Baghdad's Elwiyah neighborhood in the city centre, gunmen opened fire on the car of Brigadier Abdul-Muttalib Hassan Abbood, a director in Baghdad's traffic police directorate, wounding the director and his driver.

The past several days have witnessed a fresh surge of violence in the capital city and dozens of people were killed in bombing or shooting attacks.

Politically, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called, during a closed parliament session, for a major reshuffle in his cabinet as a big changes needed considering the "current situation" in Iraq, Maliki's office said in a statement.

Maliki, nominated by Iraq's Shiite political block, stepped in as the new Prime Minister in May. However, his inauguration has failed to produce a better situation in the war-torn country.

The remarks for reshuffle came less than a week after U.S. President Bush's Republican Party lost its control over both the House and Senate, which foresees a shift of policy on Iraq.

Editor:Wang Ping