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Blasts in Baghdad kill 23

Mother of abducted American reporter appeals for daughter's release

BAGHDAD: A suicide attacker detonated an explosive vest inside a crowded downtown coffee shop on Thursday and seconds later another bomb exploded under a nearby car, killing at least 23 persons and wounding 26, police and hospital officials said.

The blasts occurred as the mother of abducted American reporter Jill Carroll appealed for her daughter's release after her captors threatened to kill her if U.S. authorities don't release all Iraqi women in military custody.

The appeal by Mary Beth Carroll, was made on CNN one day ahead of the kidnappers' deadline for their demands to be met.

Iraqi authorities said six of the eight detained Iraqi females are expected to be released by the U.S. military next week, but not as part of a bid to free Ms. Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on January 7. American officials declined to comment. The suicide bombing occurred in a coffee shop on Baghdad's Saadoun Street, killing 16 persons and wounding 21, said police Lt. Bilal Mohammed. The blast under a parked car outside the nearby al-Mathak restaurant killed at least seven more.

Election results

The attacks occurred as the Government's election commission prepared to announce results of the December 15 parliamentary elections, possibly as early as Friday.

Alaa Abid Ali, a medic at Baghdad's Kindi Hospital, said at least 14 bodies have been received at his hospital while nine were taken Ibn al-Nafis Hospital.

The blasts shattered nearby shop windows and destroyed several cars. Wooden tables and chairs were strewn over the bloodstained pavement on which rescue workers treated some of the wounded. Two men wailed above the dead bodies of two men covered with bloodstained blankets outside the coffee shop.

In other incidents, militants also opened fire on a convoy of the mobile telephone company Iraqna, killing six security guards and three drivers in western Baghdad. — AP

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