Bombs Rock Iraq Capital, Leaving More than 300 Casualties

Local Editor

Eleven car bombs rocked Baghdad on Tuesday, martyring at least 63 people and wounding another 285 people in the bombings that were targeted at neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital, some exploding near cafes or restaurants.

"Sixty-three people were killed and 285 wounded in 11 car bombings. All of the explosions happened at the same time," an interior ministry official said.

The biggest explosions were in the northern Kadhimiyah and eastern Husseiniyah districts. The interior ministry imposed an immediate curfew on the targeted areas of east Baghdad, over and above the nightly ban on movement in force across the capital from midnight to 5:00 am.

The attacks came just two days after Al Qaeda gunmen stormed a church in the heart of the city and took dozens of worshippers hostage, with 46 of them killed in a drama that ended with a raid by Iraqi Special Forces.