59 die in Iraq attacks

Iraq suffered new carnage today as a series of attacks on security forces and oil pipelines left 59 dead, injured more than 100, and left the entire country without electricity.

At least 47 people died in a huge blast this morning at a crowded market near a police station on Haifa Street. Another 114 people were hurt when the car bomb exploded as dozens of Iraqis turned up to apply for police jobs.

In Baquba, north-east of Baghdad, insurgents shot dead 11 Iraqi police and a civilian travelling in a van.

And the country was left without power after saboteurs blew up oil pipelines crossing the Tigris river. The fire melted electricity cables, causing the power network to crash. Today burning crude oil cascaded into the river at Beiji, north of the capital. Military officials estimated it would take three days to put out the fire.

The Haifa Street blast left a three-metre-wide crater. Witnessesreported paramedics and residents pulling charred bodies from market stalls, and body parts, clothes and shoes scattered across the street.

Buildings and vehicles in the area were wrecked. An Iraq interior ministry official said a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near a cafe by the police station where many applicants had gone to escape the heat. A US Army spokesman said a girls' school was also nearby.

After the blast a plume of smoke rose up into the sky and US helicopters circled overhead. Angry crowds at the scene denounced US forces and Iraq's interim government for failing to protect recruiting centres. Others condemned President George Bush, chanting: "Bush is a dog."

Ali Abul-Amir said he had been waiting to join the force but had gone around the corner to buy a drink when the explosion went off. "I blame Ayad Allawi's government because they did not take the necessary security measures," he said.

Attacks on Iraqi security forces and police officers have left hundreds of people dead since insurgents began a 17-month campaign to expel U.S-led forces and destabilize Allawi's government.

Militants have targeted recruiting centres to disrupt efforts to build a strong Iraqi police force ahead of elections planned for January.