Police and Iraqi state television said a car bomb exploded Tuesday near a park popular with young soccer players, killing at least 18 boys in Ramadi, a city west of Baghdad. However, the U.S. military said 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured in a "controlled detonation" of explosives southeast of Ramadi but there were no deaths.
It was unclear whether there were two blasts or confusion over the casualties from a single explosion. The military routinely blows up captured weapons and ammunition. Both local police and state television said the bomb-rigged car blew apart Tuesday afternoon while the boys, aged 10-15, were playing in Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold about 70 miles west of Baghdad. The Interior Ministry did not immediately return calls for details. |