Baghdad explosions kill at least 63 in first major violence since U.S. departure

By Dan Morse and Aziz Alwan,
WashPost
Published: December 22

BAGHDAD — More than a dozen explosions in Baghdad over a two-hour period Thursday morning killed at least 63 people--the first major violence in Iraq since the U.S. completed its troop pullout last week and a political crisis broke out.

At least 185 people were reported injured in the bombings, said officials at the Ministry of Interior, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The coordinated wave of attacks began around 6:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Wednesday in Washington). Witnesses said that all main roads and many government offices in the Iraqi capital remained closed for hours after.

Babil province, about 80 miles south of the capital, imposed a curfew after receiving intelligence information that explosive-laden cars had entered the area, according to a report on government-run Iraqia TV.

But by 2 p.m., traffic was clogging main roads in central Baghdad, and life returned at least partially to normal. Street vendors sold food. Women boarded buses. Pedestrians, including men in suits and carrying briefcases, walked down sidewalks.

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