Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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March 19, 2007

At Least 20 Killed in Bomb Blasts in Kirkuk and Baghdad
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=16B5544:A6F02AD83191E1606DBA8915EAFAF5CE9574F7DCC14957C0 Police say at
least two car bombs exploded in different parts of Kirkuk; Shi'ite
mosque in central Baghdad targeted by bomb





Medic tends to a woman in Imam Ali hospital in the Shiite enclave of
Sadr City Baghdad, Monday, 19 March 2007Iraqi authorities say nearly
20 people have been killed in separate bombings Monday.

Police say three car bombs and a mortar attack in different parts of
the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 12 people and wounded more
than 35 others.

Earlier, a bomb exploded at a Shi'ite mosque in central Baghdad. 
Police say five people were killed and 15 others wounded.

Authorities also say a man's body was found today south of the capital
in the town of Mahaweel.

Meanwhile, a new public opinion poll indicates people in Iraq are
increasingly pessimistic about the future of their country, four years
after the U.S.-led invasion.

According to the survey, nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) people in Iraq
believe they, or someone in their household, will be the victim of
violence.

Only about one in five (18 percent) Iraqis have confidence in U.S.-led
coalition troops, while just under half (49 percent) say they have
faith in the Iraqi government. 

A BBC poll two years ago indicated 71 percent of Iraqis thought things
were good in their lives, and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) said
conditions in the country would improve in 12 months.

More than two-thousand people from all 18 Iraqi provinces took part in
the new poll commissioned by the newspaper "USA Today," U.S.
broadcaster ABC news, Germany's ARD television network and the BBC in
Britain.

Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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