75 killed, 162 wounded as car bomb explodes in Baghdad

A car bomb explosion in a Shiite district of Baghdad killed at least 75 people and wounding 162, a security official said, giving figures obtained from five hospitals.

The car was driven by a suicide bomber who drove at speed into a group of construction workers waiting on Uruba square, in the Kazimiyah district, to be hired for daily work, reports Forbes.

According to the New York Times, the attack appeared to be the latest sectarian strike directed against Shiites in Baghdad, who have been repeatedly targeted by Sunni Arab insurgents and terrorists bent on exploiting Sunni-Shiite divisions across Iraq.

On Tuesday, the leaders in the Shiite-dominated National Assembly said they approved a final, modified version of the proposed new constitution. But the charter still does not come close to mollifying Sunni leaders who had hoped to win far broader changes in the document before the Oct. 15 national referendum.

The approval came more than two weeks after the draft was formally presented to Parliament over the objections of some lawmakers.

The revisions are relatively minor, and are not likely to win the support of Sunni Arab leaders who oppose the charter and had hoped to see broader changes on regional autonomy and other issues. The four approved changes touch on water rights, adherence to international treaties, cabinet staffing, and Iraq's Arab identity, a more controversial subject on which the new draft offers a compromise position.

Photo: the AP