73 killed in coordinated bomb blasts in Iraq

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-02-2008 09:14

In Iraq 73 people have been killed in explosions in the capital Baghdad. Officials and Police say the remote-controlled bombs were strapped to two mentally retarded women.

An Iraqi soldier secures the site of a suicide attack  in Baghdad's Al-Ghazl market.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)

The coordinated attack targeted the city's pet bazaars and is the deadliest since the US sent thirty-thousand extra troops to the region.

According to Iraq's chief military spokesman in Baghdad, Brigadier General Qassim al-Moussawi, the explosives were strapped to two women with Down Syndrome.

They were detonated by remote control indicating the women may not have been willing attackers in what could be a new way for suspected Sunni insurgents to undermine stepped up security measures.

The first attack on Friday occurred in the central market, killing at least 46 people and wounding 100 others.

The weekly bazaar has been bombed several times since the US led invasion of Iraq, and has recently re-emerged as a popular place to shop, with improvements in security.

About twenty minutes later, the second bomb went off, this time in a bird market, in a predominantly Shiite area of the city, killing as many as 27 people and wounding 67.

One witness says the woman was selling birds, then blew herself up as people gathered around to look.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei