Suicide Bomber Hits Bus in Baghdad, Killing at Least 30
By MARIA NEWMAN NY TIMES December 8, 2005
nytimes.com
A bomb set off by a suicide bomber exploded on a bus this morning as it was about to set off to the south from a major bus terminal in Baghdad, killing at least 30 people and wounding 25 others, and scattering debris and broken glass into the surrounding business district.
Most of those who died were on board the bus, which was headed to the southern Shiite city of Nasiriyah, and other casualties came from a crowd gathered around a nearby food stall, police and interior ministry officials said.
The bus terminal, equivalent to New York City's Port Authority bus terminal, was the site of a series of car bomb explosions in August, when 43 people were killed, and 89 were injured, during the height of rush hour.
Those bombs appeared to be aimed at Shiite Arabs boarding buses and shared taxis bound for cities in the south, and further inflamed sectarian tensions.
In today's explosion, a passenger boarded a bus with explosives strapped to his waist.
"The money collector tried to prevent him but the suicide bomber pushed him and got into the vehicle then blew himself up," a police officer at the scene said.
Witnesses said there were two explosions today, one that appeared to come from luggage inside the Nissan bus, and the other one from the suicide bomber. First Lieutenant Ali Abdul Hameed from the Iraqi military's Second Brigade said the injured were taken to Al-Kindi Hospital.
Fire engulfed the bus when the bombs exploded, trapping many of those on board. Glass from nearby shop windows scattered everywhere, and shoes from the injured and a leather coat belonging to one of the victims lay beside the vehicle. Firefighters carried one of the bodies from the bus, completely charred. People took pictures of some of the dead, saying some of them were college students whose parents would want to know what had happened to them.
The Associated Press said some of the charred corpses remained in their seats, their faces staring out through the shattered windows.
The explosions come a week before national elections, at a time when military officials have predicted a surge in violence.
In a shop next door to the terminal, food was scattered on the floor, and spots of blood mixed with glass and debris.
"The bus was about to depart when the first explosion took place," said Kadum Yasin Rhema, 48, the owner of the shop. "The first explosion was small but the second one was so strong that it destroyed the bus and the nearby shops including my shop and I do not know anything about the one who exploded himself.
"I wish that the Arab countries, the cowards who support the terrorism, could come and see this destruction," he said.
One witnesses said that the money collector on the bus saw the suicide bomber "and told him that the bus was filled," but the bomber "pushed the collector and blew himself up."
One of those injured was Badr Abdul Rida, 22, a waiter in the Al-Rahman restaurant.
"I was standing in front of the restaurant when the explosion took place," he said. "The first explosion was not as strong as the second one. When the explosion took place the glass backed on my face and I was injured in my arms and face. I did not see the suicide bomber because when I woke up I found myself in Kindi Hospital."
An Iraqi staff member of The New York Times contributed reporting from Baghdad for this article. |
