Special report:Tension escalates in
Iraq
Special report: Saddam Hussein's
Fate
BAGHDAD, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- More than 40 people were
killed or found dead in Baghdad on Wednesday, two days after the lifting of a
curfew for Saddam Hussein's death verdict.
Several mortar rounds landed on a soccer field in
Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City at dusk, killing eight people and
wounding 20 others, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.
"The mortar rounds shelled the soccer field as a game
was in progress, leaving eight people killed and 20 others injured," the source
who asked to remain anonymous said.
Mortar rounds also rocked Sunni district of
al-Azamiyah in northern Baghdad, killing one people and injuring 20 others,
according to the same source. On Tuesday, this district also became the target
of mortar attacks, with 5 people killed and 20 injured.
Twenty-nine unidentified bodies were discovered in
different neighborhoods across the capital on Wednesday, a police source told
Xinhua.
The bodies were bound and blindfolded, with signs of
torture, apparently the latest victims of rampant sectarian violence, the source
said.
In the district of Iskam in western Baghdad, a car
bomb went off while police was trying to defuse it, killing one policeman and
injuring three others.
In other violence, at least five people were killed
and 26 others injured in a series of car bombs and mortar barrages in Baghdad.
The latest bloodshed came two days after the lifting
of a curfew, which was imposed to avoid probable violence following Saddam's
death verdict.
The ousted president was sentenced to death by
hanging on Sunday by Iraqi High Tribunal, which unleashed the fear of a spasm of
attacks.
On Sunday and Monday, the capital was relatively calm
due to the curfew, with few violence reported.
However, following the lifting of the curfew on
Tuesday morning, the capital become volatile again. Mortar attacks and a suicide
bomber killed at least 17 people and injured 40 others on that day.
Analysts said the unabated violence seemed to show
that Saddam verdict could hardly bring peace to the war-torn country.
Saddam Hussein trial resumes on genocide charges
BAGHDAD, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The ousted leader Saddam Hussein and six of his aides appeared in a Baghdad court Wednesday on charges of genocide against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, a series of car bombs and mortar barrages rocked the capital during the day, killing up to 21 and wounding some 77 others. Full story>>
Saddam appears for genocidal trial after death sentence
 |
|
Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein addresses the court during his trial inside the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad Nov. 7, 2006. Saddam was back in court on Tuesday for the first time since he was sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity, facing separate charges of genocide of the Kurds. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery >>> |
