Car bombers kill 27 in Baghdad

Two suicide car bombers struck a crowded area outside a state-run bank Sunday in Baghdad,killing nearly 27 people in the latest attack targeting a high-profile part of the capital....

Two suicide car bombers struck a crowded area outside a state-run bank Sunday in Baghdad,killing nearly 27 people in the latest attack targeting a high-profile part of the capital. The blast,which tore the glass facade off the three-story Trade Bank of Iraq building,leaving chairs and desks exposed,occurred shortly after 11 am as the area was packed with people at the start of the local work week.

Officials initially said the explosives-packed cars were parked a few hundred metres apart,but later said the attacks were staged by suicide bombers.

The chairman of the Trade Bank of Iraq which was established to facilitate international trade and reconstruction efforts after the 2003 US-led invasion said five guards were among the dead and six others were wounded. Hussein al-Uzri blamed insurgents trying to undermine Iraqs progress and promised they would fail.

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The work of building Iraqs economic strength … goes on uninterrupted,as does the work of the bank,which will be open for business tomorrow, he said in a statement after Sundays attack.

Persistent bombings in Baghdad and surrounding areas have raised fears that insurgents are stepping up attacks in a bid to foment unrest by exploiting the political deadlock following inconclusive March 7 parliamentary elections.

Last Sunday,suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq militants stormed the central bank and exchanged gunfire with Iraqi security forces in a standoff that brought part of the capital to a standstill. The ability of the insurgents to penetrate areas with tight security also has raised questions about the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over their own security less than three months before all American combat troops are to leave the country,the first step toward a full withdrawal by the end of next year.

The irresponsible acts of those politicians have encouraged al-Qaeda sleeper cells to resume work and strike again, said Ahmed Abdullah,an engineer in the Electricity Ministry. Ordinary Iraqis are paying the price of the political struggle in Baghdad.

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The bank is in a commercial area surrounding Nisoor Square that includes a government agency that issues national identification cards and the telephone exchange building. It was a tremendous explosion that shook the building and shattered all the glass. We were all in a panic and left our offices immediately, one bank employee who was working at the time of the attack said,declining to give his name for security reasons.

Frustration has been high over the inability of Iraqs politicians to come together to choose a prime minister and form a government even though the new parliament was seated last week. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been acting in a caretaker role as he battles to keep his job after a rival Sunni-backed political bloc won a narrow victory in the vote.