Bomb strikes animal market in Baghdad killing 15 people
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A bomb hidden in a box of pigeons exploded Friday as shoppers gathered around, tearing through a busy pet and livestock market and littering the blood-soaked pavement with human remains and animal carcasses.
At least 62 people were killed or found dead nationwide, including a U.S. Marine.
the associated press
The attack at the popular weekly animal market shattered the calm as Baghdad residents strolled past stalls where sellers were peddling birds, dogs, cats, sheep, goats and exotic animals such as snakes and monkeys.
"I went this morning to the animal market to earn some money and to entertain myself. Instead I was hit by the explosion and lost ... my pigeons and my mobile phone," Sajad Abdel-Jabar, an 18-year-old homing pigeon vendor, said from his hospital bed.
No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, which police and hospital officials said killed 15 people and wounded 66. Suspicion fell on Sunni insurgents because the market sits near a predominantly Shiite neighborhood on the east bank of the Tigris River that divides Baghdad.
It was the latest in a series of attacks on busy commercial targets in the capital as insurgents apparently sought to maximize bloodshed ahead of a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown.
Attacks elsewhere left at least 46 people dead, including 38 bullet-riddled bodies found mostly in Baghdad. The body of a Shiite boxer who had been kidnapped days ago also was found in central Baghdad, with wounds on his neck indicating he had been hanged, police said.
A Marine was killed in fighting in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, west of Baghdad, the military said, raising the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began to at least 3,070, according to an Associated Press count.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Murtha, both vocal war critics, met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the Green Zone a day after a rocket attack on the heavily fortified complex wounded six people.
"We come out of the meeting with a greater understanding of the others' point of view," Pelosi said, adding that the delegation also made the visit "to convey to our troops the appreciation of the American people for what they're doing, to applaud their patriotism."
Pelosi has been a sharp critic of the Bush administration's conduct of the war and has led a drive in Congress against sending in 21,500 more troops as part of a new security crackdown.
In Washington, President Bush challenged skeptical lawmakers Friday not to prematurely condemn his buildup, saying "I'm the decision-maker."
