Bombs kill 21, highlighting Iraq chaos

Associated Press

BAGHDAD

A double bombing struck at an upscale neighborhood Iraq’s capital Tuesday, killing at least 21 even though police stopped three attackers storming a counterterror unit, as the government strained to control al-Qaida-based chaos gripping the country.

The bloody explosions came on the same day that Iraq’s government discussed security issues with Iran, a measure of Tehran’s growing influence.

Two cars parked in the mostly Shiite shopping district of Karradah exploded during the afternoon rush hour. Most of the dead were store owners and passers-by, although the blasts hit near two police headquarters and a security checkpoint, killing six policemen.

The bombs sent plumes of black smoke over the neighborhood, located across the Tigris River from the Green Zone, and the sounds of gunshots could be heard from blocks away.

The violence brought the July death toll to 245 people killed in shootings and bombings, approaching the carnage in January, when 255 people were killed after the U.S. pullout.

Al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for nearly all the attacks as it seeks to take advantage of political instability in Iraq and move back into areas it was forced to abandon before the U.S. military left the country last December.