Bombing in Baghdad many people dead

Baghdad, Iraq – At least 65 people were killed and 420 wounded in a double bombing in central Baghdad on Sunday morning, officials said.

Two car bombs detonated in quick succession near Iraqi government buildings, an interior ministry official said.

One of the bombs exploded outside Baghdad’s governorate building and the second one outside the justice ministry, about 500 meters (1,600 feet) away.

Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned of a possible increase in violence ahead of the country’s national elections scheduled for January 16.

Sunday’s attacks came a day after Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, completed a two-day visit to Iraq.

Among her stops was the foreign ministry, one of six sites that were attacked on August 19.

That day’s attacks killed at least 100 people and wounded hundreds more. The deadliest of the six were two suicide truck bombs that struck at the heart of Iraq’s government, hitting the finance and foreign ministries.

The August attacks shook confidence in the abilities of Iraqi security forces who took over securing urban areas from U.S. forces over the summer.

The Iraqi government blamed Syria for harboring former Baath party members who it said planned the attacks and asked for their handover.

Relations between the two neighbors were strained after the bombings. Each withdrew its ambassador from the other’s country.