Bomb kills 6 at Baghdad office of Arabic channel

[July 26, 2010]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- A suicide bomber driving a minibus blew himself up in front of the Baghdad office of a popular Arabic news station early Monday, killing six people, and burying a lawmaker alive under the rubble of his collapsed home, police and hospital officials said.

The bomber was apparently waved through two checkpoints leading to the Al-Arabiya television station after security guards checked his identification, said Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi. He said the explosion occurred about 10 minutes after the bomber cleared the second checkpoint.

"This has the clear fingerprints of al-Qaida," al-Moussawi told the channel, adding that an investigation had been launched to determine how the bomber was cleared through two checkpoints.

Two police officials and a hospital official said three guards, a driver, a passer-by and a 50-year-old cleaner were killed in the massive blast that hurled around cars and collapsed nearby buildings. The attack also wounded 16 people, including former deputy prime minister Salam al-Zubaie, who lives nearby.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Al-Zubaie, a member of parliament representing the Iraqiya list headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, was rescued from under the rubble of his demolished home said Izzuldin al-Samarraie, an official in the lawmaker's office.

The lawmaker is a member of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's coalition, which is locked in a tough battle with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to see who will be the country's next leader.

Allawi could be seen walking out of building after inspecting the damage. American troops riding in Humvees also came by to inspect the damage.

He said al-Zubaie's wounds were serious and he was undergoing surgery at Ibn Sina Hospital, in the Green Zone which houses Iraq's government and the U.S. Embassy.

In March 2007, a suicide bomber concealed among worshippers blew himself up in al-Zubaie's home, wounding him in the abdomen.

Al-Arabiya correspondent Tarek Maher said that the relatively low death toll was because none of the station's administrative staff were in the office at the time of the blast.

Police Maj. Gen. Jihad al-Jabiri said the bomber drove up and parked near a trailer where the guards stayed. The trailer's mangled remains could be seen in front of the two-story white building, whose front was partially blackened from the blast.

Windows were blown out in Al-Arabiya's offices and much of the building's interior appeared to be in shambles, with doors hanging off their frames. The smoldering shells of at least nine cars could be seen along the street, including one that appeared to have been hurled by the blast on top of another vehicle.

A neighbor who lived next door questioned how the bomber could have cleared two checkpoints leading up to the narrow street where the station is headquartered.

"What can we say? There are checkpoints. What are they doing?" said the man, whose shirt was speckled with blood. He declined to give his name fearing retaliation, but said many members of his family were injured in the attack.

The roofs of both cars in his driveway were caved in and a large pink stuffed rabbit was laying on the ground, along with pieces of glass and twisted metal from the building

Al-Arabiya is among the most popular Arabic news stations, but has been viewed by militants in Iraq as too pro-Western. The station regularly interviews U.S. presidents and has been targeted in the past.

Al-Moussawi said documents had been found indicating al-Qaida was planning to target Arabic news channels and other media offices in the country.

Two years ago, the television's Baghdad bureau manager escaped assassination when a bomb was found under the seat of his car as he prepared to leave home for work.

Attacks on journalists had been common during the height of Iraq's insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but have tapered off amid improving security over the past couple of years.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 142 journalists and media workers have been killed since March 2003.

But journalists -- local and foreign -- remain a high-profile target for militants.

In January, militants targeted three Baghdad hotels, popular with Western journalists, killing 41 people and wounding more than 100.

In other violence, a bomb loaded with nails and hidden in a pile of garbage exploded in northern town of Beiji, killing three people, hospital officials said.

Concerns are mounting that militants are looking to take advantage of the political vacuum resulting from politicians' inability to form a government four months after the March elections as the U.S. draws down its combat forces to 50,000 by the end of August.

[Associated Press; By REBECCA SANTANA]

Associated Press writer Bushra Juhi and Hamid Ahmed contributed.

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