22 May 2010

Bomb at market in Iraq kills 23

2:43 pm on 22 May 2010

A minivan packed with explosives has blown up at a crowded market in Iraq's northern Diyala province on Friday, killing at least 23 people and wounding 55 others.

Police said the attack took place near a crowded cafe just steps from the headquarters of a police rapid-response unit in the town of Khalis, about 80km north of Baghdad.

Shops were destroyed and people remained trapped under debris, a police officer said.

Khalis was the scene of a market bombing in March that killed nearly 60 people.

Violence in Iraq has fallen considerably since the height of the insurgency three years ago but bombings are still a regular occurrence.

Tensions have been running high since an inconclusive 7 March parliamentary election left a power vacuum and raised concerns about a renewal of sectarian violence.