Twin car bombings in central Baghdad kill 26

The area targeted was crowded with people at the start of the work week

At least 26 people have been killed and 53 wounded in a twin car bombing in central Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.

The vehicles blew up within minutes of each other outside government offices and a bank near Nisoor Square in the capital's Yarmouk district.

One building contained an interior ministry agency where identity cards are issued, and people had been queuing outside at the time of the blasts.

There has been increased unrest in Iraq since March's parliamentary election.

The poll produced no outright winner, and a deal between the various parties to form a coalition government has not yet been reached.

The political uncertainty threatens the planned end of US combat operations in August, ahead of a full US withdrawal by the end of 2011.

Co-ordinated attacks

Officials said the explosives-packed cars were parked a few hundred metres apart and blew up at around 1130 (0830 GMT) on Sunday.

The area targeted by the bombers - which includes the interior ministry and police offices, and the headquarters of the publicly-owned Trade Bank of Iraq - was crowded with people at the start of the work week.

Correspondents say the Trade Bank of Iraq is one of the public sector's most active financial institutions and at the forefront of efforts to encourage foreign investment.

The buildings were heavily damaged in the blasts, and among the dead were security personnel deployed outside, the officials added.

It is not clear what the primary target of the bombings was, but a week ago 15 people were killed in an attack on the Iraqi Central Bank.

Security officials blamed the attack on Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda, saying they were trying to prove they remained a force despite the killing by US and Iraqi forces of several senior leaders earlier this year.

Overnight, three roadside bombs exploded in the predominantly Shia district of al-Hurriya, killing at least two people and wounding 14.

Officials told Iraqi media that the first bomb went off on a main street. When locals gathered, the second bomb exploded, and when police came to the site, the third bomb was detonated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk / Bg Times