25 killed in bombing attack on Baghdad shopping area
The morning explosions also injure 48 people and come as Iraq prepares to take over more security responsibility from U.S. troops.
Reporting from Baghdad — Explosions amid a row of busy cafes and businesses in a Shiite section of northeastern Baghdad early today killed at least 25 people, police said.
There were at least two blasts in the attack, one of the worst in the capital in several weeks, which came as the Iraqi government took more responsibility for security from U.S. forces. As part of this shift, the Iraqi government later today is scheduled to conduct its first-ever payday for the mainly Sunni paramilitary groups known as the Sons of Iraq, who are credited with helping calm the country. Until now, U.S. forces have paid the Sons of Iraq, who have received about $300 per month for standing guard at checkpoints alongside U.S. and Iraqi forces and who are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.
The attacks, along a street of shops and cafes bustling in the early morning with customers stopping by for breakfast, were a reminder of the challenges facing the Iraqi government as it takes charge of the Sons of Iraq and other security tasks while U.S. forces diminish their presence in the streets. The Sons of Iraq program has been a favorite target of suspected Sunni Muslim insurgents, who accuse the participants of being traitors to the Sunni resistance movement and of supporting the U.S.-backed Shiite government.
Police said there were two explosions in Kasra, a mainly Shiite district. The first was caused by a car bomb that blew up about 100 feet from a cluster of restaurants and other businesses. When people gathered at the site of the bombing to help victims, a suicide attacker wearing an explosive belt ran into the crowd and blew himself up.
Police said the initial death toll was 25, with 48 people injured.
Susman is a Times staff writer.
tina.susman@latimes.com
Times special correspondents in Baghdad contributed to this report.
