24 killed in Baghdad violence

09 Aug, 2006

Bombings and shooting killed at least 24 people and wounded 80 in Baghdad on Tuesday as a previous raid by US and Iraqi troops into a Shia militia stronghold stoked political controversy.
At least five bomb blasts killed a total of 19 people, two rockets fell inside the highly fortified Green Zone and five Iraqis were killed in a bank robbery, security officials said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he had not authorised what he called Sunday's "unjustified" night-time assault by Iraqi troops and US advisers on a target in the impoverished east Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
The raid, which the defence ministry and US-led coalition said had targeted a death squad, triggered a clash with Shia gunmen loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, whose movement is part of Maliki's coalition.
Coalition aircraft were called into action after the Iraqi army snatch squad came under fire, and at least three civilians were killed.
Speaking on state television, Maliki said such raids "should not happen again in order to protect the reconciliation process."
The first bomb hit at dawn, when a roadside booby-trap ripped open a minibus and a taxi in the downtown Nahda area. Nine commuters were killed and eight wounded, an interior ministry official said.

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