At least four people were killed and more than 10 others wounded in Baghdad on Monday when a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle by the offices of Al Arabiya, its correspondent in Baghdad and interior ministry officials said, Al Arabiya Channel published on its website today. The bomber struck at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT) in front of the station's bureau in the city center, according to an interior ministry official, and sending a plume of smoke into the air that could be seen from several kilometers away. Al Arabiya's Baghdad-based correspondent, said the bomber was able to pass through the first security gate and detonated the bomb in front the channel's office. The bomber, who was driving a minibus, was apparently waved through the first checkpoint after security guards checked his identification, Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said. He said three guards and a cleaning woman were killed in the blast that left another 10 injured. Al-Arabiya correspondent Tarek Maher said he was in the building when the blast occurred. He said the building sustained heavy damage and the explosion left a massive crater.
