Children Among 26 Dead As Iraq's Cycle of Violence Continues

Iraq's cycle of violence claimed at least another 26 lives yesterday when three car bombs detonated in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul.

In Falluja the US military launched two air strikes against what it said were suspected hideouts of the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Doctors in the town said 11 people were killed, including some civilians, with children among them.

Operations continued in Samarra, north of Baghdad, where US troops mounted a major offensive last week to take back control of the city. Abdul-Nasser Hamed Yassin, an official at the city's hospital, said 70 dead had been brought in since the fighting started, among them 23 children. At least 160 wounded were treated. Many residents carried their dead to the graveyard yesterday, waving white flags on sticks as they walked through deserted streets.

Late last night, US warplanes attacked Sadr City in Baghdad, as fighting broke out between American troops and rebels.

Yesterday morning, the blast from the first car bomb shook Baghdad shortly before 9am as a large crowd of recruits for the police force and a new special forces unit were queuing at an entrance to the heavily fortified green zone.

A car raced up to the gate and blew up, killing 15 people in the crowd and injuring at least 80. "Other cars around began to explode one after another," said Ziyad Ghali, 33, who was standing near by.

Residents had blocked off their street to traffic. "We were expecting something like this would happen," Mr Ghali said. "They should not ask these recruits to come here."

Like many wealthier Iraqis, Mr Ghali is leaving the coun try and going to the US. "The situation turns worse by the day," he said.

At the Yarmuk hospital, the corridors were crowded with trolleys bearing dozens of injured. Among them stood Jamil Abdul Zara, 35, his right hand in plaster and much of his face burnt from the blast. He had come from Diwaniya, a province north of the capital, to apply for a job as a policeman.

"I saw so many people dead around me," he said. "The police started shooting in the air and then the ambulances brought us to hospital. I came because there is no other work, but I will not queue to be a recruit again. That's enough."

Many of the injured said that the blast had come not from a car bomb but an American missile - a claim commonly made, and a sign of deep frustration at the occupation.

"I have no job. I am married, I have children. I am not a looter or a kidnapper," said Assi Anan, 28, who was queuing to join the special forces unit and was unhurt. "They told me I would get 450,000 dinars [£180], so I came."

An hour after the first blast, a truck bomb exploded in Saddoun Street, targeting a convoy leaving a hotel where contractors are staying. At least six people were killed, and a dozen wounded.

Another car bomb exploded outside a primary school in Mosul. The US military said it appeared to have detonated before it reached its target. Five people, including two children, were killed and 11 people were injured.

In Baghdad, gunmen killed Thamir Abdul-Latif, a senior official in Iraq's science and technology ministry, as he drove to work; and in Balad Ruz, north of Baghdad, the police chief was shot dead.