By DPA
Baghdad : At least 72 Iraqis were killed and 130 injured Tuesday in a devastating suicide attack near a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad.
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck as he drove it in the commercial area of Khalany, near the Senk flyover that crosses the Tigris River in the centre of the capital, an Iraqi police source said.
A mixed area of Sunnis and Shias, the neighbourhood is also the location of the Shia grand mosque of Khalany, which according to local media, was damaged extensively.
One of the reasons for the high death toll was also the proximity to a busy market, the interior ministry said.
Witnesses said the blast left a cloud of black smoke over the area and was heard across Baghdad.
Over 25 vehicles were destroyed and nearby shops also suffered serious damage, the Independent News Agency said.
In Baquba, 60 km north of Baghdad, 22 suspected insurgents were killed overnight Tuesday in a large-scale military operation named Arrowhead Ripper, involving a ground force of 10,000 US and Iraqi soldiers.
The offensive, which was aimed at eliminating elements of the international Al Qaeda terrorist network, involved an overnight air assault, with the ground force of US and Iraqi soldiers engaging militants in Baquba, the US military said in a statement.
Diyala province became a centre of Iraqi insurgent and Al Qaeda activity after the US increased its troop presence in Baghdad.
At least six Iraqi soldiers were killed and 16 others were wounded when a group of armed militants ambushed their convoy in Khalis, near Baquba, Iraqi army sources said.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi military statement said that eight Iraqi soldiers and two military officers were killed and 22 others wounded in the past 24 hours in Baghdad during operations targeting militants within the Fardh al-Qanoun – law enforcement – security plan.