Deadly blasts target Iraq bank

Many of the victims of Sunday's twin bomb blasts in Baghdad were women [AFP] Two car bombs have exploded outside the headquarters of the Trade Bank of Iraq in Baghdad, killing at least 26 people and injuring 53 others, security officials have said. The near-simultaneous blasts occurred shortly after 11am [0830 GMT] on Sunday in the Yarmouk neighbourhood in western Baghdad. There are conflicting reports about whether the bombs were planted in parked cars or driven by suicide bombers. Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi army, said the attack involved two suicide bombers in cars. But Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh, reporting from Baghdad, said there were reports that the bombs were actually planted in parked cars outside the bank. It's also unclear whether the attack was carried out by anti-government fighters, or whether the bombings were part of an attempted robbery. A source from the bank told the Reuters news agency that several bank guards were killed in the blasts and the building was badly damaged. One of the two bombs exploded near an office of Iraq's interior ministry where Iraqis apply for their national ID cards. Many of the victims were women, according to the Iraqi army. Heavily guarded area The Yarmouk district is not far from Baghdad's heavily-guarded Green Zone. Our correspondent said the location of the attack would be viewed as another sign that the Iraqi army and police are struggling to provide basic security. "If you walk 150 metres, you will have an Iraqi army checkpoint there," he said. "So it's kind of a blow to the security forces." The bank is one of the public sector's most active financial institutions and has been working to encourage foreign investment in Iraq. Banks have become frequent targets for both criminals and fighters in recent months. A June 13 raid on Iraq's central bank killed 15 people which the security forces blamed on the remnants of al-Qaeda in Iraq. And gunmen stole $6.5m from a Baghdad bank last summer. Sunday's bombings occurred after a string of attacks in the capital on Saturday evening.