DOUBLE CAR BOMBINGS IN BAGHDAD KILLS OVER 130 PEOPLE!

A pair of suicide bombs ripped through key government offices in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing 136 people and injuring nearly 600 more.
The explosions - which targeted the Justice Ministry and Baghdad provincial administration - were the most deadly attacks so far this year.

Among the dead were at least 25 staff members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, which runs the city, officials said.

"The walls collapsed, and we had to run out," said Yasmeen Afdhal, 24, an employee of the Baghdad provincial administration. "They were pulling victims out of the rubble and rushing them to ambulances."

The devastating attacks come as Iraq is preparing for elections in January. Iraqi officials have warned that violence by insurgents is likely to escalate.

Just hours after the blasts, top Iraqi leaders were set to meet nearby.

No group has taken responsibility for the attacks, though the bombing appeared to be the work of Sunni insurgents intent on overthrowing the country's Shiite-dominated government.

"They are targeting the government and the political process in the country," said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, spokesman for the city's operations command center.

Three American security contractors who worked for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad were injured in the attacks, but American officials did not provide details.