Aftermath of explosion at school which killed five

(8 Dec 2009) SHOTLIST 1.Top shot of students gathered around crater filled with water, after bomb went off 2. Mid of students gathered around crater filled with water, after bomb went off 3. Crater with school facade 4. Sign reading (Arabic) "Abu Huthaifa Primary School" 5. Various of damaged desks in pool of water 6. Interior of classroom, various of damaged desks and books stained with blood 7. Notebook on the floor of a classroom among shards of glass 8. Various of pupil holding up notebook stained with blood 9. Various of students examining their bags interior of classroom 10. Various of students walking out of classroom 11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abbas Jabir, School guard: ''Because of yesterday's explosion, there are no classes today and maybe the closure of classes will continue for a week. Pupils and residents of the area were injured by the blast. Windows of the school and nearby homes were smashed.'' 12. Student accompanied by his mother holding his bag leaving school 13. Students leaving school STORYLINE Classes at Baghdad's intermediate school which was rocked by bombing on Monday afternoon were suspended on Tuesday as a result of the powerful blast that left five dead and dozens wounded. Students who left their school after the blast went to the building in Sadr City on Tuesday morning to search for their books and bags. The guard of the school said he expected it would remain closed for the coming days. The blast occurred at about 1 pm local time (1000 GMT) in an area where large attacks have been infrequent because it is encircled by US and Iraqi security forces and has its own neighbourhood security. There are an estimated 2.5 (m) million Shiites living in Sadr City, a stronghold of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The US military has expressed concern of a possible rise in violence ahead of next year's national elections. Iraqi officials say three bomb-rigged cars that exploded in quick succession across Baghdad on Tuesday morning killed at least 18 people. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...