– ALMOST 30 KILLED IN IRAQ

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A car bomb has exploded in a crowded market, on Wednesday 06/10/2009 morning, in the southern Iraqi town of Bathaa, in the province of Dhiqar, killing at least 28 people.

Hospital officials said about 40 people were wounded in the mid-morning attack, although the number of casualties is expected to rise.

Police say the bomb was in a parked car in the town of Bathaa, about 320km (200 miles) South-East of Baghdad. In the past the area has been the scene of fighting between rival Shiaa militia factions.

A statement posted on the Dhiqar province website said that “no fewer than 30 bodies were collected and around 70 others were wounded,” AFP news agency reported.

” Children and women are among the dead,” said Bathas’s mayor, Ali Fahad. He said the casualties were being taken to a hospital in Nasiriya, about 30km away.

The US plans to withdraw troops from Iraqi cities and major towns by 06/30/2009, and is due to end combat operations across Iraq by 09/2010, leaving Iraqi security forces to cope alone (see – IRAQ-US DEAL ).

 

 

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