At least 50 Iraqis killed in two blasts

Published July 25th, 2007 - 07:29 GMT

Two suicide bombs on Wednesday killed 50 people in Iraq. The two suicide bombs went off in Baghdad as Iraqis celebrated their football team's semi-final win over South Korea in the Asian Cup, killing 50 people and wounding 135.

 

One car bomb exploded near a crowd of jubilant Iraqis, killing 30 and wounding 75 in the Mansour area, police said. Another at an army checkpoint killed 20 people and injured 60, many of them football fans celebrating nearby.

 

Elsewhere, unidentified gunmen set up a fake checkpoint in a southern area of Baghdad on Wednesday and fired on Iranian pilgrims returning from the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala, seriously wounding seven of them, police said, according to Reuters.

 

Preliminary police reports said one person was also killed and 17 wounded by celebratory gunfire following the win.