A car bomb ripped through a crowded line of shops and cafes near a police station in central Baghdad on Tuesday where many Iraqis had gathered to apply for jobs in the force, killing at least 47 people and wounding 114, officials said. The blast left a gaping three-meter (10-foot) crater and trail of charred bodies, devastated buildings and gutted cars near the station on Haifa street, an insurgent stronghold that has been the scene recently of fierce clashes with U.S. troops. Paramedics and residents picked up body parts scattered across the street and put them into boxes. Anguished men lifted bodies burnt beyond recognition and lay them gently on stretchers. Helicopters circled. Health Ministry spokesman Saad Al-Amili said at least 47 people were killed and 114 wounded. Interior Ministry spokesman Col.Adnan Abdel-Rahman said the bomb was placed inside a Toyota vehicle parked near the commercial hub, located a short distance down the road from the police station, which had been closed to traffic.
