A new wave of violence killed as many as 33 people and wounded more than 200 in Iraq on Sunday.

Houses damaged by suicide car bomb explosions are seen near the Iranian Embassy to Iraq in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, April 4, 2010. Three suicide car bomb blasts targeted the Iranian Embassy, the consulate office of the Egyptian Embassy and the residence of the German ambassador in Baghdad on Sunday. (Xinhua/Xu Yanyan)

The three suicide bombers struck the Iranian embassy, the consulate office of the Egyptian embassy and the residence of German ambassador in central and western Baghdad in a coordinated attack following mortar attacks on Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

The first suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden car near the residence of the German ambassador in Baghdad’s western district of Mansour at about 11:15 a.m. local time (0815 GMT), the Interior Ministry source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast destroyed the residence and also caused severe damages to nearby buildings, including the Spanish and the Syrian embassies, said the source.

The second massive explosion occurred about two minutes later when another suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed car near the Egyptian consulate office in the same district, destroying several houses and caused damages to the office building, the source said.

One of the Iraqi guards of the Egyptian consulate was among the killed and four others were wounded by the blast that left a crater at about five meters wide, the source added.

“Our house is totally destroyed. What have we done to be punished in this way? We are now homeless,” a woman in her forties told Xinhua when she was crying with her three sisters for their destroyed house near the Egyptian consulate in the high-class neighborhood of Mansour.

The third similar attack took place at about 11:20 a.m. (0820 GMT) outside the Iranian embassy and the Mansour-Melia Hotel which is close to the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet