Global General

10 people killed, 30 injured in Iraq's Diyala bombings

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-03 16:39

BAQUBA, Iraq - Up to 10 people were killed and 30 others injured in two car bomb attacks followed by a suicide bombing in Baquba, the capital of the volatile province of Diyala, on Wednesday, a provincial police source said.

"The latest toll rose to a total of 10 killed and 30 injured by the three blasts in Baquba," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attacks occurred at about 9:30 am (0630 GMT) when two car bombs parked near two government offices in central Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, detonated almost simultaneously, the source said.

A third attack took place when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest among a crowd of people gathering outside the main hospital of Baquba to receive the victims of the two car bombings, the source added.

Dr. Ali al-Timimi, head of Diyala health department, was among the killed people by the suicide blast, along with one of his bodyguards, the source said.

Timimi was supervising the receiving of dozens of victims at the entrance of the hospital when the suicide bomber attacked them, he said.

The toll could rise as many victims have been evacuated by civilian vehicles and ambulances to the city hospitals and medical centers, the source said.

Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated US and Iraqi military operations against them.