BAGHDAD, Sept 14 (AFP) - At least 47 people were killed in a massive car bomb blast outside the main police headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday, leaving a trail of carnage and chaos in a bustling area of the Iraqi capital.
Witnesses said dozens of people were queuing outside the station, which doubles as a police recruitment centre, when the explosives-rigged vehicle blew up, sending shards of shrapnel flying and clouds of smoke into the air.
A health ministry spokesman said 47 people were killed and 114 wounded in the blast which occurred in the Haifa street area, a troubled district of Baghdad considered a bastion of Saddam Hussein loyalists.
The attack came just two days after fierce clashes between US forces and insurgents in the same area left at least 13 people dead and 55 wounded.
Two other Iraqis were seriously wounded when another bomb exploded near the planning ministry nearly simultaneously, the health ministry said.
Police sergeant Haider Hamid said the first bomb struck outside the main entrance of the al-Karkh police centre, near a football pitch and school, but that the building itself escaped with only minor damage.
Shrapnel devastated a row of simple shops, including a cafe, just after 10:00 am (0600 GMT), sending smashed glass and twisted debris everywhere.
Outside one smashed shop was a pool table where children, still on summer holiday in Baghdad, often played billiards.
Body parts were littered everywhere and pools of congealed blood were smeared across the pavement.
Angry men cursed US President George W. Bush as tears poured down the faces of shocked residents amid the scene of devastation.
Four cars were burnt out, but there was no visible damage to the police station itself.
Later, dozens of US troops sealed off Haifa Street as US helicopters circled overhead.
As shooting flared in the street, panicked residents began fleeing the area, fearing a repetition of Sunday`s fierce fighting with insurgents.
On Monday, US troops enforced a strict night-time curfew in Haifa Street.