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At least 132 killed in Baghdad, 520 hurt

BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- At least 132 people were killed and 520 wounded in nearly simultaneous car bombings in Baghdad Sunday, authorities said.

The bombs exploded minutes apart within 1,600 feet outside Baghdad's Provincial Council and Ministry of Justice buildings, The New York Times reported.

"This is another terrorist message added to what we have gotten before from the Bloody Wednesday explosion," Provincial Council head Kamel al-Zaidi, told al-Iraqiya state television, referring to Aug. 19 attacks on government sites in Baghdad.

Sunday's blasts heavily damaged both buildings and incinerated many cars on Haifa Street, busy with traffic on Sunday mornings, The Times reported. Protective blast walls in front of both buildings in recent weeks had been moved back off the road closer to the buildings.

The Aug. 19 attacks in Baghdad killed at least 122 people and wounded dozens more, shaking local residents' confidence in the ability of Iraqi security forces to safeguard urban areas in the wake of the planned withdrawal by U.S. forces last summer, CNN reported.

Report: U.S. drone kills 24 in Pakistan

DAMADOLA, Pakistan, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. drone reportedly killed 24 people in northern Pakistan, including Taliban members meeting in an underground hideout, witnesses and officials said.

Twelve people were reported wounded in Saturday's attack in Damadola, Bajaur, about 4 miles from the Afghan border.

"I heard two loud explosions when a meeting of the Taliban was in progress," Damadola resident Hazrat Gul told Sunday's edition of Dawn.

Two relatives of Maulvi Faquir Mohammad, a Taliban commander in Bajaur, were among the dead, Dawn reported. Mohammad had left the meeting just minutes before the attack, local officials said.

A Pakistan army spokesman Sunday denied the deaths and injuries were caused by a drone, or pilotless plane. At a news conference in Islamabad, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said Saturday's devastation in Damadola was caused by explosive material that blew up while being loaded onto a vehicle.

Police quell riot at Temple Mount

JERUSALEM, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Twelve Palestinians were arrested Sunday during a riot against Israeli police at the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem, authorities said.

Three police officers and eight Muslim worshippers received minor injuries, spokesmen for each side said.

The rioters threw rocks and small gasoline bombs and oiled the entrance to the Temple Mount to make it difficult for police to follow several dozen young men who fled inside, Ynetnews.com reported.

Police closed the Temple Mount to Muslim worshippers and visitors to negotiate with the men inside, The Jerusalem Post reported, adding the Jewish prayer wall at the Temple remained open Sunday.

The rioters were allegedly summoned by clerics calling on Muslims to protect the Temple Mount, one of the world's most disputed religious sites.

There were reports of stones being thrown at passersby and police in other parts of Old Jerusalem Sunday, although no injuries or damage was reported.

Similar violence erupted Saturday night, but the Temple Mount remained open until the riot Sunday.

Ten kidnapped soccer players found dead

TACHIRA, Venezuela, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Police found the bodies of at least 10 members of a Colombian soccer team kidnapped two weeks ago near the border with Venezuela, authorities said.

The bodies, which had gunshot wounds, were found near the border in Tachira, Venezuela, the BBC reported Sunday.

One team member who survived told police the kidnappers were members of the armed wing of ELN, a Colombian guerrilla group, the BBC reported.

The soccer players, known as Los Maniceros, or Peanut Men, were kidnapped two weeks ago as they sold nuts along the border.

Police had yet to confirm a motive for the kidnapping and deaths, although local officials said militants may have tried to force the soccer players to join their cause, the BBC reported.