Twenty one dead after car bomb in Iraq

A car bomb in a crowded market in the northern city of Tal Afar kills at least 21 people and wounds dozens more.

BAGHDAD // A car bomb struck a crowded market in the northern city of Tal Afar yesterday, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens, according to US and Iraqi officials. The attack was the latest in a series of deadly bombings that show militants retain the ability to wage high-profile attacks despite recent security gains, particularly in northern Iraq. The car was parked when it exploded at about 6.30pm inside a food market that was packed with shoppers and vendors peddling fruit and vegetables, according to police in Tal Afar.

A local security official said the blast occurred in the Wahda commercial district less than 30 minutes after the expiration of a regular weekly vehicle ban to prevent bombers from targeting weekly prayers. Iraqi soldiers had searched the car at a checkpoint leading to the market but failed to notice the explosives, another city official said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information, said 21 people were killed and 72 wounded.

The US military confirmed the death toll but said 66 people were wounded, including five Iraqi police officers. Hussein Ali, a 15-year-old who sells food from a cart in the market, was wounded in his head and one of his legs by the blast. "I was standing near my cart when I heard a big explosion and I felt as if hell was in front of me. The next thing I knew I was in the hospital receiving treatment," he said from his hospital bed.

Tal Afar, which is 420 kilometres northwest of Baghdad, was the site of another car bombing on July 16. At least 18 people were killed in that attack, including seven children. The city, which is west of the volatile city of Mosul, was targeted in offensives by US and Iraqi troops that prompted American leaders to describe it as a success story in the effort to stabilise Iraq. But sporadic attacks continue.

Mosul and surrounding areas are the site of ongoing US-Iraqi operations against al Qa'eda in Iraq and other insurgents. Ethnic tensions also have been rising between Turkomen, Arabs and Kurds in the region as they are locked in a bitter dispute over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. *AP