A truck loaded with explosives rammed into a small bus and exploded early Wednesday in Baghdad, killing at least 10 people, an Iraqi deputy minister said. A police officer put the toll at 22.
The blast occurred at 5 a.m. in the capital's al-Bayaa district, police said. Two cars nearby were destroyed in the blast.
Ahmed Kadhim Ibrahim, deputy interior minister, said 10 people were killed. He said the dead were Iraqis, and that the truck driver had planned to strike the police station. But Bassem Naiem, a policeman at the scene, put the toll at 22 and said the victims included 18 passengers on the bus, The AP reported.
Iraqi officials blamed supporters of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, captured by U.S. soldiers on Saturday.
Another explosion was reported early Wednesday near a railway station in al-Yarmouk neighborhood.
On Wednesday, the 4th Infantry said it had started a new series of raids, dubbed Operation Ivy Blizzard, in Samarra along with Iraqi security forces.
A written statement from the division said the sweep was requested by local leaders of the city, located some 100 kilometers north of Baghdad. The statement added the swoop would "target, isolate and eliminate former regime elements and other anti-coalition cells."
Elsewhere, at least four people were injured at a pro-Saddam demonstration in the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, witnesses said. They said passengers in a car opened fire on the protesters. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
