29 killed in Iraq

Every day, another sad story:

In the latest attack targeting Iraqi security forces, police in Baghdad say insurgents lured police to a house in the west of the capital and then set off hundreds of kilograms of explosives as they entered the home. Seven policemen and 22 civilians were killed in the blast, which shook the city late Tuesday.

Police at the Ghazaliyah station in west Baghdad say they received an anonymous phone call late Tuesday from a man who said he knew the location of a possible foreign fighter hideout.

A senior police officer at the station, who declined to be identified, tells VOA that he was suspicious of the call and tried to persuade his lieutenant not to raid the house until the police could collect more information.

The police officer says the lieutenant would not listen to him and left the station with nearly a dozen policemen. The officer says the men were immediately ambushed as they entered the house. He describes the raid as a huge, tragic mistake.

Iraqi woman stands outside houses destroyed in west Baghdad blast, Wednesday
The U.S. military says it believes more than 800 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack. The blast also leveled six neighboring homes, trapping residents underneath mounds of rubble.