54 Iraqi day labourers blown to pieces by Suicide Bomber

Innocent workers are targetted by religious maniacs.

A suicide bomber killed at least 54 people and wounded scores in central Baghdad this morning after luring a crowd of poor day labourers to his vehicle with promises of work, the Interior Ministry said.

Police said 148 people were wounded when the bomber's vehicle exploded at in Tayran Square, sending a cloud of black smoke into the sky. Gunfire sounded immediately after the blast.

Tayran Square is typically a gathering point for carpenters, plumbers, brick-layers, painters and other workers in the construction trade who frequent the cafes and street vendors in the early morning while waiting for the chance of some work.

About 90 minutes later, a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi police patrol, but the Interior Ministry said there were no casualties in that incident. A third explosion rocked the centre of the city shortly afterwards, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Iraq is gripped by tit-for-tat sectarian killings between majority Shias and Sunni Arabs who were once dominant under Saddam Hussein.

A car bomb devastated a fruit and vegetable market in Baghdad on December 2nd, killing at least 51 people.

In the worst attack since the US invasion, more than 200 people were killed on November 3rd in multiple car bombings in the Shia district of Sadr City.