Two suicide car bombers struck a crowded area outside a state-run bank today in Baghdad, killing 27 people in the latest attack targeting a high-profile part of the capital.
The blast, which tore the glass facade off the three-storey Trade Bank of Iraq building, leaving chairs and desks exposed, occurred as the area was packed with people at the start of the local work week.
Iraqi officials initially said the explosives-packed cars were parked a few
hundred yards apart, but later said the attacks were staged by suicide bombers.
Security forces swarmed through the debris while clean-up crews used cranes to move the charred wreckage of several vehicles destroyed by the blast.
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 week, suspected al Qaida in Iraq militants stormed the central bank and exchanged gunfire with Iraqi security forces in a stand-off that brought part of the capital to a standstill.
One employee said no-one in the Trade Bank building, which was surrounded by a concrete wall, was killed in the attack, although some were wounded.
"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," he said.
"We were all evacuated and it could take a few days before we return to work."
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.