Mar 11, 2007, 13:15 GMT
Baghdad - At least 20 civilians were killed and 25 wounded on Sunday when a car bomb detonated in al-Karada district in central Baghdad, said police sources.
Initial police reports had placed the number of dead at 11, adding that only seven were wounded. However, the police described the attack as intense and the death toll was expected to rise in the hours following the attack.
According to the police, the civilians were mostly Shiite pilgrims who were on their way back from a festival, usually celebrated 40 days after the Ashura festival where they commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, Shiite icon and grandson of the prophet.
The car used in the attack was reportedly parked at the side of the road and was detonated using a remote control, said the police.
In a separate incident, at least 11 people were killed and 14 more were wounded when another bomb detonated near al-Mustansiriyah college in Baghdad, which has been previously targeted by militants.
Police reports said the explosion was caused by a suicide attacker, who detonated his explosive belt on a commuter bus as it passed near the Baghdad-based college.
Separately, four people were reportedly killed and two more were wounded in Mosul when an explosion rocked the headquarters of the Iraqi Islamic Party, police sources said Sunday.
The Iraqi Islamic Party is a Sunni party, lead by Iraqi Vice President Tarek al-Hashimi, with its headquarters in southern Mosul, 450 kilometres north of Baghdad. The party is part of the Iraqi Accord Front, the Sunni coalition which has 44 seats in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.
Police sources did not say whether the blast was caused by a suicide attack.
However, Voices of Iraq news agency quoted Mohammad Shaker al-Ghanam, an official from the party, as saying that an unidentified body found near the blast site might 'belong to a suicide bomber who carried out the attack.'
Al-Ghanam also said that the blast targeted the information office of the party headquarters.
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