Large Explosion (possible car bomb) in Baghdad

MSNBC

[saquin]

MSNBC just had a special report w/ some raw video. Large explosion in central Baghdad that could be heard for miles. Near the gates of the CPA headquarters. No word on casualties. From the raw video, I saw several civilian cars damaged.

[risk]

"All call signs, do not panic, that is all out-going"

Japanese planes burning on southern airfield, Iwo Jima. Photo taken on strike Baker 4 July 1944.

Guess what AQ, we're just getting started.

[windchime]

Thanks! Hope I can make it until then.

[Squantos]

Glad yer alright.....Get worried when I heard some civies were hit.

Stay safe !

[Travis McGee]

FWIW, my father-in-law went ashore on Iwo Jima on the first day (USMC radioman) saw the flag raised, and went all the way to the end.

He's got some stories.

[risk]

No wonder you think this is all worth protecting.

[TexKat]

Goodnight MEG.

[radu]

Came home tonight and turned on the TV to this news. Been following it since.
Damn.

[bonfire]

me too

[TexKat]

Col? Ralph Baker in a shorty news brief stated that it was a 1000 lb bomb intended for inside the green zone. Does not know if the bomber got nervous and detonated it prematurely or if it was remote controlled.

[radu]

I'm just grateful they didn't get inside.

I feel so bad for the people who were caught up in the blast and conflagration. These attacks are senseless.

[MEG33]

I heard the gate kept it from going in.I think the Coalition dodged a bullet tonight but the Iraqis and civilian DOD workers didn't.White Toyota pickup truck, no exchange of gunfire.

[radu]

It was obviously huge. It's a miracle more weren't killed. I'm sad for those who were and for those who were wounded.

[windchime]

".........or if it was remote controlled."

Did he say there was a possibility the car was parked or had no occupants?

[MEG33]

I think it tried to make it through the gate.You know how muddled things are at first so I won't say for sure.

[windchime]

Thanks. Trying to stay awake for Sanchez' briefing! Six hours doesn't give them much time to sort things out, though.

[TexKat]

Ambassador Bremer Mourns "Tragic and Inexcusable Loss of Life."

ÚÑÈí

In a statement on the car bomb of January 18th, Ambassador Bremer mourned the "innocent victims" but he affirmed that the plan to hand over authority to Iraqis remains on course.

“Today’s terrorist bombing in Baghdad, which killed at least 16 Iraqi citizens, is an outrage - another clear indication of the murderous and cynical intent of terrorists to undermine freedom, democracy and progress in Iraq. They will not succeed.

The attack, which took place at the height of rush hour in Baghdad, was clearly timed to claim the maximum possible number of innocent victims. Once again, it is innocent Iraqis who have been murdered by these terrorists in a senseless act of violence.

I share the deep outrage of my Iraqi friends and colleagues at this tragic and inexcusable loss of life. I pass my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those murdered."

[windchime]

"I pass my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those murdered."

Bremer used the correct word, murdered.

[MEG33]

Indeed.

[TexKat]

Two Blasts Rock Lebanon Camp Tense After Execution

AIN EL-HILWEH, Lebanon (Reuters) - Two blasts rocked Lebanon's largest refugee camp on Sunday, camp sources said, amid tension after Lebanon executed a convicted killer whose arrest was brokered by Palestinian factions in the camp.

The grenade blasts caused no injuries but shattered months of relative calm in the Palestinian Ain el-Hilweh camp near Sidon. One grenade targeted an office of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction while the other hit a residential area.

Lebanon resumed capital punishment on Saturday after a five-year pause, putting three Lebanese men to death in the courtyard of Beirut's Roumieh prison despite objections by human rights groups and the European Union.

Badie Hamadeh, who was killed by firing squad, was convicted of killing three security officers in a raid in 2002 and was believed to have links to the Islamist group Osbat al-Ansar, which Washington deems "terrorist" and is based in the camp.

After the raid, Hamadeh fled to Ain el-Hilweh, which is beyond the reach of Lebanese authorities, sparking a four-day manhunt before Palestinian factions controlling the camp brokered his arrest.

His handover fueled tensions in the camp, sparking clashes between Islamic militants and Palestinian factions including Fatah, which played a key role in the arrest. Palestinian sources said they now expected more explosions in the camp.

Hamadeh was buried in a cemetery in Sidon on Saturday, but witnesses said authorities refused to allow a public funeral procession out of security concerns.

Lebanese politicians hostile to Lebanon's roughly 390,000 Palestinian refugees for fear of tipping the state's delicate sectarian balance, point to Ain el-Hilweh as a haven for militants and organized crime.

[TexKat]

Bremer used the correct word, murdered.

So true windchime. All of these senseless murders. What do these delusional people think that they will gain other than death and more death.

CNN has also been reporting a roadside bombing in Basra. No one was killed or injured, thank God.