Baghdad, Iraq – A bomb exploded in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing three girls and a boy on their way to school as violence targeted all walks of life in the capital.
Nearly 20 people were killed in car bombings and shootings elsewhere.
With the bloodshed showing no sign of abating, politicians held protracted talks over formation of a new government, which the U.S. hopes will help stamp out the insurgency by encouraging Sunni Arabs and Shiites to work together.
The children killed in the bombing in the bustling Fadel neighborhood were between 10 and 14 years old and included two daughters and a son of Jamil Mohammed, a vendor in a nearby public market.
The bomb exploded near a camera shop that also sells alcohol, police Lt. Ali Mittab said.
The target was unclear, but Islamic extremists often attack stores that sell alcohol or DVDs deemed pornographic.
Many of the attacks Wednesday appeared directed at Iraqi police, which the United States hopes can take over some security responsibilities so foreign troops can withdraw. But civilians were caught in the carnage, too.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into claims a police death squad has been operating in Iraq, a top official said today.
The probe was launched as police found the bodies of 10 more men who had been shot dead execution-style and dumped in three different areas of Baghdad’s predominantly Shiite suburb of Shula.
Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, Iraq’s deputy interior minister in charge of domestic intelligence, said the probe was launched following U.S. military claims that soldiers had detained 22 men wearing police uniforms who were about to kill a Sunni Arab man.
“A parked car bomb hit a police patrol in northern Baghdad, killing four officers and wounding two civilians, police said.
In southwestern Baghdad, gunmen firing from two cars killed a police captain and his driver, also a police officer.
