Twin Car Bombs Kill 15 in Baghdad

Two car bombs exploded Thursday 100 yards from each other during a traffic jam, killing at least 15 Iraqis in the deadliest attack in the capital since the national election Jan. 30.

The explosions appeared to target an Interior Ministry building and a six-car Iraqi police convoy, but most of those killed were civilians caught in morning traffic. The blasts wounded 38 people, many of whom received severe burns.

“I saw their cars burning, many cars,” said Ahmad Ali, a police officer who was slightly injured. “They were turned upside down. The passengers were inside their cars.”

Attacks also occurred north of Baghdad in the cities of Baqubah and Kirkuk, where insurgents launched mortar rounds and fired on a police station, killing at least five officers.

This morning, a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy in the capital’s Mansour district killed an undetermined number of Iraqi civilians, local media reports said. It was not immediately known whether any Americans were killed.

Thursday’s violence punctuated several days of escalating attacks in the capital. Although American casualties have fallen precipitously since February, Iraqi security forces and government officials have continued to be frequent targets.

The violence has dismayed Iraqis who hoped the election and the formation of a new government would help stabilize the country.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld urged the nascent government during a visit here this week to accelerate its Cabinet appointments and drafting of a constitution. Permanent ministers for several key departments have yet to be chosen, and the government has not quelled tensions among religious and ethnic groups.

In statements posted on the Internet, the Iraqi arm of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the twin bombings in Baghdad, Associated Press reported.

The bombs exploded along Jamia Street, a busy thoroughfare in the capital’s southeast. The first thunderous explosion sent up a red pillar of fire that engulfed several cars, shattered windows and shook buildings.

Staccato gunfire crackled as panicked private security guards and government forces stationed at the Interior Ministry facility fired randomly.

Seconds later, another bomb exploded about 100 yards away, flinging at least two cars on their sides. Another spate of machine-gun fire ensued.

Ahmed Jassim Hamza, 35, was working in a nearby political office when he heard the blasts.

“I went out and I saw some people who were burning inside their cars,” he said. “I helped evacuate some of them. I saw two laborers who were working on the sidewalk were killed. I saw some children who were terrified and crying, as some of their friends were hurt. We heard shooting everywhere.”

Heider Qassam, 24, was driving at the front of the police convoy when the bombs went off. He said most of the police survived because they had crossed to the other side of the street to bypass traffic.

Police said they had noticed men sitting in two parked cars before the vehicles exploded.

“An engine was thrown into the air,” Qassam said. “I saw people with their limbs lost. I was looking at people burning.... We were so confused -- we didn’t know whether we should evacuate these on the ground or help those in their cars. And all the time we were worried that another bomb would explode.”

Three hours after the blasts, U.S. forces found a third bomb, which they destroyed.

Iraqi police and firefighters used sport utility vehicles and flatbed trucks to rescue survivors. U.S. troops blocked off the road, waving away bystanders and pedestrians.

A pair of American attack helicopters flew overhead, surveying the damage. Above them, a fighter jet ripped through the clouds.

Rescuers lifted the injured into ambulance trucks and sped to two hospitals.

Relatives raced into Yarmouk Hospital calling out loved ones’ names. A man who found his badly injured brother wept and beat his head against a wall. Other grim-faced relatives walked directly to the morgue, in back of the hospital.

Despite the carnage, Iraqi police said they were undeterred and would remain on the job.

“I will stay a police officer until I lose my life!” Qassam said. “I want to destroy each and every terrorist!”

In Baqubah, Iraqi army and police raided several suspected insurgent hide-outs. A police source said they had arrested several suspects and discovered weapons and ammunition, including mortar rounds.

A police official in Kirkuk said gunmen had fired on a police station south of the city, killing at least five officers.

Police Lt. Iyhab Abed Alaa said the latest rash of violence was a reaction to increased vigilance by Iraqi security forces.

“This proves what we are saying,” he said. “We have been targeting and chasing terrorism, putting pressure on the remnants of the insurgency. This makes them explode like this.”

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Times staff writers Raheem Salman and Caesar Ahmed in Baghdad, special correspondent Ali Windawi in Kirkuk and special correspondents in Tikrit and Baqubah contributed to this report.