Separate attacks of fresh violence in Iraq on Tuesday killed scores of people and wounded over 100 others.
At least 50 people were killed and over 114 wounded in a massive car bomb blast outside the main police headquarters in Baghdad, leaving a trail of carnage in a bustling area of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday.
An al-Qaeda-linked group led by Jordanian activist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the car bomb.
Witnesses said dozens of people were queuing outside the station, which doubles as a police recruitment centre, when the explosives-rigged vehicle blew up, sending shards of shrapnel flying and clouds of smoke into the air.
Police sergeant Haider Hamid said the bomb struck outside the main entrance of the al-Karkh police center on Tuesday, but that the building itself escaped with only minor damage.
Shrapnel devastated a row of stores, including a coffee shop just after 10:00 am (0600 GMT), sending smashed glass and twisted debris everywhere.
The health ministry said the casualties were taken to three separate hospitals in the capital for medical treatment.
Angry crowds near the site of the bombing denounced U.S. forces and interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government for failing to protect police recruiting centers.
In the meantime, also Tuesday, gunmen in two cars opened fire on a van carrying policemen home from work, killing 11 officers and a civilian, police and hospital officials said.
The incident took place when the policemen were returning to their station after they were told that a trip to a training camp has been postponed, said a police officer.
11 policemen were killed as well as the civilian driver, said Qaisar Hamid of Baqouba General Hospital. Two others were wounded, he added.
In the town of Ramadi, U.S. forces and resistance elements clashed, and the Iraqi Health Ministry said firefights there killed 10 Iraqis. At least 18 Irqis were wounded and at least one U.S. Humvee was seen burning as a result of the clashes, eyewitnesses said.
Meanwhile, also Tuesday, the US military said three US troops were killed and eight others wounded in separate attacks in Iraq in the past 24 hours.
Two American soldiers died and three others wounded when they came under attack from an improvised explosive device and small arms fire in Baghdad on Monday at around 4:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, another soldier was killed and five were injured when their patrol was attacked with small arms fire in the northeastern city of Mosul. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
