Security official wounded in Baghdad blast

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A Baghdad police official was wounded in a magnetic bomb attack reported earlier in the day in central Baghdad, an Iraqi police source said. “An IED attached to the vehicle of the Baghdad police chief’s secretary, Maj. Ali Jameel, went off today, wounding him, one of his escorts and a civilian,” the source told IraqiNews.com, adding the explosion also caused severe damage to the vehicle. Earlier, an Iraqi police source said three civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device ripped through central Baghdad in the morning. “A magnetic IED attached to a civilian vehicle went off in al-Wihda neighborhood, al-Karada area, central Baghdad, leaving three civilians wounded and the vehicle severely damaged,” the source had told IraqiNews.com. “Security forces sealed off the explosion scene while the wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital,” he added. Iraqi and U.S. officials said that gunmen are increasingly using magnetically attached bombs known as “sticky IEDs” in their attacks. Rigged with magnets so they will adhere to the undersides of automobiles and detonated by remote control or with timers, the bombs have been used in Iraq sporadically since 2004, they said. AmR (S) 1