Seraphim
05-22-2004, 02:40 AM
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb exploded outside the home of a senior Iraqi security official Saturday, killing at least five people and destroying several vehicles on an east Baghdad street, police said.
The blast wounded Abdul-Jabbar Youssef al-Sheikhli, one of three deputy interior ministers and a member of the Shiite Muslim Dawa party. A ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Sheikhli had head and chest injuries and was in stable condition at a nearby hospital.
It was the second blast in a week to target a top Iraqi government official. On Monday, a suicide car bombing killed the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, and several other people near the headquarters of the U.S.-run coalition in the capital.
Police and U.S. military officers at the scene said the five dead included four Iraqi policemen and a woman neighbor who died in her home.
U.S. Army Capt. Brian O'Malley said the blast occurred at about 8:05 a.m. was caused by a "vehicle-borne improvised explosive device." It was unclear whether the bomb was detonated by a suicide attacker.
More than an hour after the blast, smoke rose from several wrecked cars, and debris was scattered in the street. The explosion also knocked down part of a wall adjoining the sidewalk.
Three palm trees in the garden of the deputy minister's home were blackened from the explosion. Bloodstains could be seen inside the two-story house and on the street.
U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police, one of whom appeared to have a fresh cut on his face, milled around. Two American soldiers tended to an injured person lying on the ground.
On Monday, a suicide car bombing killed the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, and about six other people near the headquarters of the U.S.-run coalition in the capital.
The blast wounded Abdul-Jabbar Youssef al-Sheikhli, one of three deputy interior ministers and a member of the Shiite Muslim Dawa party. A ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Sheikhli had head and chest injuries and was in stable condition at a nearby hospital.
It was the second blast in a week to target a top Iraqi government official. On Monday, a suicide car bombing killed the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, and several other people near the headquarters of the U.S.-run coalition in the capital.
Police and U.S. military officers at the scene said the five dead included four Iraqi policemen and a woman neighbor who died in her home.
U.S. Army Capt. Brian O'Malley said the blast occurred at about 8:05 a.m. was caused by a "vehicle-borne improvised explosive device." It was unclear whether the bomb was detonated by a suicide attacker.
More than an hour after the blast, smoke rose from several wrecked cars, and debris was scattered in the street. The explosion also knocked down part of a wall adjoining the sidewalk.
Three palm trees in the garden of the deputy minister's home were blackened from the explosion. Bloodstains could be seen inside the two-story house and on the street.
U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police, one of whom appeared to have a fresh cut on his face, milled around. Two American soldiers tended to an injured person lying on the ground.
On Monday, a suicide car bombing killed the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, and about six other people near the headquarters of the U.S.-run coalition in the capital.