Updated on
Summary
A minivan packed with explosives blew up at a crowded market in Iraqs troubled 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 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.The bomb exploded around sunset when the area was filled with shoppers.The blast was severe. Many shops were destroyed and the roofs collapsed, one of the police lieutenants said. The roof of the coffee shop, which was full of people, also collapsed. We believe there are people still under the debris.Overall violence in Iraq has dropped sharply since the sectarian slaughter of 2006-07 but bombings are still a regular occurrence and the insurgency unleashed by the 2003 U.S. invasion remains entrenched in mainly Sunni Diyala and other parts of northern Iraq.
