Car bomb leaves casualties at Baghdad police station Tuesday, 02-Sep-2003 3:41AM Story from AFP
Copyright 2003 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
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BAGHDAD, Sept 2 (AFP) - A car bomb exploded Tuesday at a police station in Baghdad's main police compound in the Rasafa district, leaving one officer seriously wounded, police said.
The attack occurred right next to the capital's top police academy and across the street from the police headquarters and the ministry of interior, possibly targeting Iraq's deputy interior minister.
"An officer was seriously wounded, while others were lightly injured," police commander Bassel Ami told AFP.
Ami said he believed the attack was aimed at killing Ahmad Ibrahim, the deputy interior minister, whose office is adjacent to the parking lot where the explosion occurred.
"We have intensified our operations around Baghdad and we have arrested many criminals. This is why they are targeting us," he added.
Outside the station, one police officer's head was bandaged and his shirt stained with blood as his colleagues carried him into an ambulance.
"A car bomb went off at about 11:30 am (0730 GMT). Most of the injured are policemen," said Lieutenant Khaled.
The blast went off in a parking lot for stolen vehicles kept at the police station, Khaled added.
"It was a car bomb. Thank god, no one has died. There are only wounded," said Najim Mona, forensics chief at the station.
"There was an explosion and then the fire spread to the other vehicles and police vehicles," said witness Ahmed Mohsen.
American vehicles were surrounding the area as smoke billowed from the site.
Khaled said the station's chief, General Amer, had a grenade lobbed at his house on Monday night.
The police academy and headquarters area is heavily patrolled, with the main street cordoned off by checkpoints.
The blast came as a leading Muslim Shiite leader, killed in a car bomb massacre in Najaf on Friday, was buried there in a mass outpouring of grief.
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