95 SLAUGHTERED IN BAGHDAD HORROR.

AT LEAST 95 people were killed and 536 wounded as six bombs blasted Baghdad yesterday.

It was the Iraqi capital's deadliest attack since US troops withdrew in June - and raised doubts local security forces can cope without American help.

The strikes targeted government buildings near the heavily fortified Green Zone in the north of the city - the heart of the country's Shi'ite-led administration.

A car bomb near the foreign ministry, which killed dozens and wounded more than 250, was the worst attack.

Last night, officials say the death toll, which includes government workers and civilians, is expected to climb. One blast was close enough to Iraq's parliament to shatter its windows. A foreign ministry employee said: "The windows of the ministry shattered, slaughtering the people inside. I could see ministry workers, journalists and security guards among the dead."

The site was a twisted heap of smouldering cars, as firefighters fought the blaze.

Baghdad's security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said Iraqi forces had foiled one car bomb and arrested two members of al-Qaeda.

Earlier this month, the Baghdad government said most of the city's protective blast walls would come down within 40 days - a sign of confidence in its security forces ahead of national elections in January.

CAPTION(S):

DEADLY Firemen hose down cars at the site of the worst bomb where dozens were killed BOMB HELL Scene of horror outside the foreign ministry