Suicide car bombers kill 22 in square

TWO suicide car bombs exploded in a square in central Baghdad yesterday, killing 22, including two American security contract workers.

Iraqi officials said more than 35 were wounded in the attack in Tahrir Square, which damaged shops and set fire to other cars.

Al-Kindi Hospital in Baghdad said it had received four bodies and 29 wounded from the square, which is well known for its shops and a large statue of Iraqi soldiers breaking through chains to freedom. Two more bodies and seven injured people were sent to nearby Ibn al-Nafis Hospital, officials said.

The wounded included five schoolgirls who were hurt when the blasts damaged a school and a minibus driving by, officials and parents said.

Meanwhile, Iraqi militants holding 63-year-old Australian engineer, Douglas Wood, hostage issued a 72-hour ultimatum for Australia to start pulling its 1,370 troops out of Iraq.

Australia’s government has said it will ignore the demands.