• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Three Car Bombs In Baghdad Leave 35 Dead

March 12, 2006 -- At least 35 people were killed and over 90 injured in three car bomb attacks in a Shi'ite district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad today.

The near-simultaneous attacks targeted two markets in Al-Sadr City, a working-class district of Baghdad.

Another 10 people were killed in other attacks in Baghdad, making March 12 one of the worst days of violence seen in the capital in recent weeks.

In other developments, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani announced that the country's new parliament will hold its inaugural session on March 16 -- three days earlier than planned – and the trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein resumed.

Hussein and his seven co-defendants have been on trial since October, accused of organizing reprisals against villagers in Al-Dujayl after a 1982 assassination attempt on Hussein.

Today marked the first time that three of Hussein's co-accused testified. All denied helping to draft lists of people from Al-Dujayl who were then arrested, tortured, and executed. In all, 148 people from the village were rounded up and killed.

The trial is due to resume on March 13.

(compiled from agency reports)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org