Hilla blastsEarlier on Monday, two bombers blew themselves up among crowds of Iraqis in Hilla, leaving at least 27 dead and more than 118 wounded, according to Aljazeera.

Police said the first attacker, strapped with explosives, detonated his bomb among Iraqis waiting at a medical centre where police, army and civil service recruits had compulsory check-ups before being hired.

The second bomber blew himself up among a crowd of police commandos demanding higher wages.
The Polish military controls the area around Hilla.

The al-Qaida's network in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombings in separate statements posted on the Internet.

"You just can't count the dead because the bodies were torn apart," said one Iraqi man surveying the scene. "May God punish those who did this."

Body parts lay in pools of blood on the street beside discarded sandals and shoes.

Workers carried shredded bodies on stretchers and sheets and loaded them onto the back of pick-up trucks.

Fighters opposed to the presence of foreign troops in Iraq have increased attacks over the past month, killing more than 700 Iraqis since a new cabinet was announced on 28 April.

In February, a bomb in Hilla killed 125 Iraqis - the deadliest single attack since Saddam Hussein was toppled in March2003

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6779B776-EA32-44AC-94AB-088258872169.htm