“According to the witnesses, there was a parked civilian car bomb in the street market and it blew up and led to the deaths of 10 people,” said Major Ali al-Temimi of the Khalis police. AGENCIES
A car bomb in a market in confessionally mixed Diyala province, north of Baghdad, killed 10 people and wounded at least 20 on Thursday, medical and security officials said. “We counted 10 bodies and at least 20 wounded in the explosion of a car bomb parked near a vegetable market in Khalis,” an Iraqi army colonel said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The casualty toll was confirmed by a medic at the main hospital in the Diyala provincial capital, Baquba. “We received 10 bodies and admitted 25 wounded. Two policemen were among them,” said Firaz al-Dulaimi. Authorities immediately imposed a curfew in Khalis, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. “According to the witnesses, there was a parked civilian car bomb in the street market and it blew up and led to the deaths of 10 people,” said Major Ali al-Temimi of the Khalis police. The deaths came just weeks before U.S. troops are due to a complete a withdrawal from Iraq that has raised concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to maintain security. The end-of-year pullout brings to a close an almost nine-year war that has left thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis dead, and cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Violence has declined nationwide since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 258 people were killed in October, according to official figures. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is on a visit to Iraq designed to herald a new era in U.S.-Iraqi relations.
