Iraq suicide blast

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION

A suicide bomber driving a minibus blew himself up outside a cafe in a mainly Shi'ite Muslim district of the Iraqi capital on Sunday (October 20), killing at least 38 people, police and medics said.

The explosion on Sunday evening took place in Baghdad's Amil neighbourhood.

A policeman whose patrol was stationed nearby said that the cafe was full of people watching a soccer game and others smoking water pipes when a minibus drove over the pavement and exploded right at the entrance.

Crowds gathered early on Monday (October 21) to inspect the extent of the damage from the blast. A group could be seen securing a coffin to the top of a minibus, as mourners standing nearby cried.

At least 12 people were killed in a spate of suicide bomb attacks on security personnel and government buildings earlier on Sunday, police said.

Violence in Iraq, which had eased after reaching a climax in 2006-07, is now rising again. More than