Two Car Bombs Kill 41 Iraqis, Wound 138

Jun 17, 8:51 AM (ET)

By SAMEER N. YACOUB

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A sport-utility vehicle packed with artillery shells blew
up Thursday in a crowd of people waiting to volunteer for the Iraqi military,
killing at least 35 and wounding 138. Another car bomb north of the capital
killed six members of the Iraqi security forces.

The explosion in Baghdad, the deadliest attack since a bombing outside another
recruiting center in February, was part of a surge of attacks on U.S. coalition
forces and their Iraqi allies ahead of the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis on
June 30.

The blast scattered bodies and debris across a four-lane highway outside
Baghdad's Muthanna airport, which is used as a base by both the Iraqi Civil
Defense Corps and the U.S. military. The explosion could be heard for several
miles and sent a cloud of smoke over the city.

No American or Iraqi troops were injured, U.S. Army Col. Mike Murray said. Most
of the victims appeared to be poor Iraqis hoping to join the security forces
because job opportunities here are limited.

Another car bomb exploded Thursday afternoon in a village near Balad, 50 miles
north of Baghdad, killing six members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and
wounding four others, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division said. There were no
further details.

The ICDC is Iraq's main internal security force, created by the U.S.
administrators to battle the country's insurgency.