Nearly 70 Violent Deaths in Iraq

March 24, 2007
Nearly 70 Violent Deaths in Iraq

(Baghdad) — A suicide truck bomber struck a police station in a mainly Sunni area in Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 20 people, police said, as insurgents apparently step up their campaign against Iraqis seen as collaborating with the U.S. and the Iraqi government.

The blast in Baghdad, which could be heard across the city and sent up a plume of black smoke over the skyline, came a day after Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie was seriously wounded in a suicide bombing during prayers at his home in Baghdad. Nine other people were killed, including al-Zubaie's brother and an aide.

Al-Zubaie was moved out of the intensive care unit Saturday morning and was in good condition, Sunni lawmaker Dhafer al-Ani said, adding that the deputy prime minister had received visitors at the U.S.-run hospital in the heavily guarded Green Zone.