Chemical Weapons In Baghdad

The media tries not to sound too gleeful that there's a reemergence of violence in Baghdad, but they fail:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb destroyed a truck carrying chlorine north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least five people and spewing out toxic fumes that left nearly 140 others sick, Iraqi police said.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber and two car bombs killed at least 17 on Tuesday and police said 20 unidentified bodies were found on Monday, a spike in the daily death toll after a marked reduction since the start of a U.S.-backed security crackdown aimed at restoring order to the Iraqi capital.

It was not immediately clear if the chlorine truck blast was caused by a roadside bomb that hit the truck or if the vehicle itself was rigged with explosives as a makeshift chemical gas bomb.

One source at police headquarters said the truck was rigged with explosives, suggesting it was a "dirty bomb" employing a readily available substance used to purify water. A second police source also said the bomb was on the truck.

The bomb exploded near a restaurant at a rest stop on the main highway in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad.

Twisted metal and debris littered the ground in front of a tire repair shop after the blast, which sent out toxic fumes that caused scores of people to be taken to hospital.

Police said at least five people were killed and the total number of hurt including those sickened by the chlorine as well as those hit by the explosion was 139. Many women and children were among them.

We have to be careful in our reaction here. I'd hate for the libs to start screaming about us imposing on the Iraqis right to a clean, safe pool.