Baghdad, Iraq, January 26: A car bomb exploded in central Baghdad today killing five people and injuring 20, an interior ministry official said, a day after three huge minibus bombs targeting hotels killed dozens.
The blast occurred in Karrada neighbourhood near a government office which deals with criminal investigations, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Yesterday, three huge and apparently co-ordinated minibus bombs targeted hotels in Baghdad, killing at least 36 people and wounding 71.
Iraqi politicians and US forces have warned of rising violence ahead of the March 7 vote, the second parliamentary ballot since the 2003 US-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein but ushered in a deadly and long-lasting insurgency.
The hotel bombings came on the same day the government announced that Saddam’s notorious cousin and henchman “Chemical” Ali Hassan al-Majid, a symbol of the fallen regime, had been executed.
–Agencies