Iraq to probe use of controversial bomb detector

[January 27, 2010]  BAGDHAD (AP) -- Baghdad's top military spokesman says Iraq is investigating the use of a handheld bomb-detecting device that Britain banned for export because of questions about whether it works.

Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi told The Associated Press Wednesday that the devices will continue to be used at checkpoints while a committee looks into their effectiveness.

He says the committee is made up of representatives of the defense and interior ministries as well as electronic and explosive experts.

The announcement follows this week's suicide bomb attacks in Baghdad that targeted three hotels and a police crime lab. More than 60 people have been killed in the attacks.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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BAGDHAD (AP) -- Iraqi police say two people have been killed in a drive-by shooting targeting buses carrying Iranian Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad.

Two police officials say gunmen in a speeding car opened fire Wednesday on the buses as they passed through a Sunni-dominated neighborhood in northwest Baghdad.

The officials say an Iranian woman and a bus driver have been killed and that five pilgrims also have been injured. The buses were on their way to the shrine of Imam Mousa al-Kazim, a much revered Shiite saint.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

[Associated Press]

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