BOC: Syndicate chief was target of explosion

BAGHDAD, Sept. 20 (Iraqi News) – The improvised explosive device (IED) that detonated earlier today at the entrance of the press syndicate building in northern Baghdad mainly targeted its chief, the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) said on Saturday. “Muayyad al-Lami was in the syndicate’s garden when the explosion occurred,” a spokesperson for the command, Maj. Gen. Qassem Ata, told IraqiNews.com – Voices of Iraq – (Iraqi News), noting that the device was detonated at a close distance. Lami’s injury was the result of shattered glass, the spokesperson noted. Meanwhile, a source close to the press chief, who requested anonymity, told VOI that Lami was slightly injured in his left hand. An official source from the syndicate told VOI earlier today that an explosive charge planted by unknown men at the entrance of the press syndicate building in Baghdad’s northern area of al-Waziriya detonated at 11:00 a.m. during a syndicate board meeting, slightly wounding a number of civilians, including the syndicate chief, Muayyad al-Lami. “The explosion caused damage to three cars and totally destroyed four others, all belonging to syndicate employees,” the source noted. Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and Baghdad province. With a municipal population estimated at 7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq. It is the second largest city in the Arab world (after Cairo) and the second largest city in southwest Asia (after Tehran). Located on the Tigris River, the city dates back to at least the 8 th century, and probably to pre-Islamic times. Once the center of Dar al-Islam (the abode of Islam), Baghdad has been a center of violent conflict since 2003 because of the ongoing Iraq war. Baghdad’s population is a mix of Sunnis and Shiites. It is mainly divided into two sides: the west (al-Karkh) and the east (al-Rasafa).   SS (S) 1