Freedom on the march: "Twin Car Bombings Kill 18 in Baghdad"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&u=/ap/20050414/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_3



BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two car bombs exploded near the interior minister's offices Thursday, killing 18 people and wounding three dozen. Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the blasts, the latest in several weeks of stepped up attacks that followed a relative lull in violence in mid-March.

In a statement posted on the Internet, al-Qaida in Iraq, headed by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said the bombings were targeting police who were guarding the offices of Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib, who is in charge of the nation's police. The claim couldn't be independently verified.

Al-Naqib was in his office at the time of the attack, but he left to examine the damage and said he was fine. The explosions didn't damage the building.

The blasts sent large plumes of smoke rising over the city and threw passers-by to the ground. Ice cream vendor Ali Ahmed, 28, said he heard an explosion, followed by gunfire and another explosion. "My stall was partially destroyed because of this terrorist act," he said. "Some people have lost their lives. As for me, I have now lost my source of income."