Shocked – awed civilians say Baghdad blasts “appalling”

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Asmaa Mohammed woke up to the outrageous sound of blasts that rocked her house, located near central Baghdad’s green zone. Two deadly blasts had targeted the justice ministry and Baghdad provincial council buildings near the green zone on Sunday (Oct. 25), leaving more than 150 people killed and hundreds others wounded, the two facilities destroyed and dozens of civilian vehicles burnt with passengers on board. “The powerful blasts smashed all windowpanes and brought down the chandeliers and pictures in my house,” Mohammed, a 36-year-old housewife, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “No officials even cares to check on us or get acquainted with the magnitude of disasters we face today. Perhaps we, the citizens, have to foot the bill further for officials’ remaining in power,” said an angry Mohammed. The two blasts coincided with a meeting that was to be held a few hours later between Iraqi legislators and senior officials on the status of the disputed oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the law on parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held on January 16, 2010. Mahmoud Hassan, 44, a local resident of al-Salhiya, said it was a horrible day, adding he saw body parts flying and buildings tumble down. “All I could do was to help security forces and rescue teams to carry the wounded on stretchers to the ambulances. My house was smashed but no one in my family was hurt fortunately because the children were at school then,” said Hassan. The devastation of the justice ministry building was so strong. According to the official spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC), Maj. General Qassem Atta, most of the victims were ministry staff and pedestrians who were walking in the vicinity. Ali Dawood, a local resident of the Haifa street, close to the justice ministry, said he barely heard the screams that followed the explosions that affected his hearing. AmR (S) 2