Three suicide attackers activated car bombs nearly simultaneously in a mainly Shiite town north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 85 people and injuring some 70 others, a hospital official said. In the western town of Ramadi, the US military said a roadside bomb killed five US troops.
According to The AP, the car bombs went off just before sunset, around 6:45 p.m., hitting a bank, a vegetable market and another location in downtown Balad, witnesses said.
Dr. Khaled al-Azawi of Balad Hospital conveyed at least 60 people died, and 70 were injured, including the town's police chief, Col. Kadhim Abdul Razzaq, and four other policemen.
