BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Four explosions, including two car bombs and a suicide bomber, rocked the capital Tuesday morning, killing at least 36 people and injuring scores, police said.
A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up at a gas station in the eastern New Baghdad neighorhood, killing 23 people and injuring 51, said Interior Ministry official Maj. Falah al-Mohammedawi.
A car bomb targeting a police patrol in the same neighborhood killed nine people and injured 17, all civilians, said police Lt. Alu Abbas and medic Rahim al-Waedi.
Another car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in the crowded southeastern Karada neighborhood, killing four people and injuring 16, said al-Mohammedawi.
The vehicle was parked next to a small market opposite the Timimi mosque, which was closed for repairs, police said. Distraught residents rushed to the scene, as fire fighters fought back flames from a burning car.
A fourth blast took place in an open area near the downtown national theater, al-Mohammedawi said. Initial police reports indicated a mortar blast. There were no reports of casualties.