Baghdad gripped by panic after attacks kill at least 60
16:27 19/08/2009 BAGHDAD, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - The streets of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad fell eerily quiet on Wednesday after truck bomb and mortar attacks killed at least 60 people.
Some 300 people were also injured in the attacks, which included a vehicle exploding outside the Foreign Ministry, not far from the heavily-fortified Green Zone. Another device exploded close to the Finance Ministry on a road leading into the city and close to a busy market.
Two mortars also landed in the Green Zone.
The attacks began at 10:00 a.m., six explosions sounding near the Green Zone in the space of 10 minutes.
The death toll is expected to rise. A security source told RIA Novosti that two hospitals, one of them in the centre of the city, had received a total of 88 bodies between them. Hundreds of people have gathered at the hospitals seeking information about loved ones.
In the aftermath of the attacks, Iraqi security forces closed off streets and carried out searches of passersby.
The assault on the city came a day before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was due to begin and six years to the day since a truck bomb hit the UN offices at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, claiming the life of UN special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
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