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Car bomb attack kills 20, wounds 50 in Iraq

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-22 02:00

BAGHDAD -- A car loaded with explosives was detonated Friday in Iraq's Diyala province, leaving at least 20 people dead and 50 others injured, local police source said.

"The blast occurred this evening near two coffee shops in Kalis city, which locates 20 km north of Diyala's capital city of Baquba. A suicide bomber driving his car approached the site and blew himself up," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

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"The death toll has rose to 20 and 50 others were wounded. The two coffee shops were completely destroyed, many other shops and cars nearby were also damaged by the explosion," he said.

"The police have rushed to the site and evacuated the wounded people," he added.
Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated US and Iraqi military operations against them.

Various attacks continue in whole Iraq since the March parliamentary elections. On May 10, a string of deadly attacks caused more than 100 Iraqis killed in the war-torn country.