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Iraq is rocked today by a triple car bombing Amarah. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) estimates that the bombings "were about five minutes apart" and that they "could be felt a half-mile away". The death toll continues to rise and CNN notes: "Al-Forat, an Iraqi TV station affiliated with the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq (SICI) political movement, and the state TV reported three bombs, with al-Forat saying saying the blasts detonated in a garage. The British military initially reported at least one bombing at a marketplace." Aref Mohammed (Reuters) puts the death toll at 40 thus far with over 125 injured:

"Operating rooms are stretched to the limit because of the number of wounded. The city is in shock because it's the first big explosion like this," the police official said by telephone.
Most people were killed in the second and third blasts, police said. Many onlookers had gathered after the first blast in a parking lot and were killed or wounded when the subsequent car bombs exploded.

Meanwhile Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reports Adm. Michael G. Mullen (Joint Chiefs of Staff chair) testified to the US House Armed Services Committee yesterday that, "Our main focus, militarily, in the region and in the world right now is rightly and firmly in Iraq." In the New York Times, Cara Buckley offers a look at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad, still closed, recovering some of the plundered objects that were stolen at the start of the illegal war when the White House made the decision not to protect the museum and notes that the tour was ogranized by liar and War Cheerleader Ahmad Chalabi who "sought to highlight the museum's restoration efforts and insert himself in the recovery process."

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julian e. barnes
the los angeles times
the new york times
cara buckley