The first device hit government workers and Iraqis lined up for national
identity cards. A car bomb exploded seconds later as people rushed to help
the dying and wounded.
The blasts struck a municipal office in the town of Taji, about 12 miles north
of the Iraqi
capital, a day after a wave of attacks on police and soldiers.
"I was standing in a line when suddenly a powerful blast shook the
ground. I immediately covered my face as shrapnel and shattered glass flew
around," said Karrar Abid, who acts as a middleman for people applying
for identity cards.
An official said: "Thirty-five people were killed and 28 wounded when a
car bomb and an improvised bomb exploded simultaneously outside a government
office where national identification cards are issued, and the provincial
council offices."
More than eight years after the invasion that brought down Saddam Hussein,
Iraq is plagued by a stubborn insurgency that launches attacks on a daily
basis - with an average of 14 a day, according to American military
officials.
Militants have targeted Iraqi police and soldiers for months as a way to
undermine confidence before US forces withdraw by the end of December.
