Baghdad, Iraq – A suicide bomber struck a crowd of mostly poor Shiites in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 63 people and wounding more than 200 after luring construction workers onto a pickup truck by offering them jobs as they were eating breakfast.
The blast, condemned by Shiite and Sunni lawmakers, came on a day that saw the U.S. military report the deaths of five more troops. At least 59 other Iraqis also were killed or found dead, including an AP Television News cameraman who was shot while covering clashes in Mosul.
The Baghdad suicide attack shattered storefront windows, dug craters in the road and set fire to several cars. People rushed to the devastated area to see if friends or relatives had been killed or wounded. Mangled bodies were piled up at the side of the road and partially covered with paper. Two men sat on the sidewalk, crying and covering their faces with their hands.
The bombing took place about 7 a.m. in Tayaran Square, where men gather daily to solicit jobs as construction workers, cleaners and painters. They buy breakfast at stands selling tea and egg sandwiches while waiting for potential employers to drive up, making them easy targets.
The practice has become increasingly common amid high unemployment and soaring prices, forcing men to hire themselves out daily to feed their families. The Iraq Study Group report released this month by a bipartisan commission in Washington said that unemployment ranges from 20 percent to 60 percent of Iraq’s population.
It was the second major attack in less than a month in which unemployed Shiites were lured to their deaths by a suicide bomber promising to hire them for the day. On Nov. 19, 22 people were killed and 44 were wounded when a minivan driven by a man promising work exploded in the mainly Shiite southern city of Hillah.
The U.S. command announced five more deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq, including three Marines killed in combat in Anbar province.
The three Marines assigned to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing died Monday of wounds sustained while fighting insurgents, the U.S. military said.
Another Marine died Monday from non-hostile causes in Anbar, which stretches west from Baghdad to the borders of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The military also said a soldier died Monday of apparent natural causes near Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad. The soldier lost consciousness and died after being transported to a troop medical clinic.
