How low can the jihadists go?

I mean, here they are going after children!

Thirty-two people, most of them children, were killed yesterday when a suicide bomber exploded his car beside a convoy of U.S. soldiers handing out sweets to youngsters in a Baghdad suburb.

The blast left the street covered in pools of blood, mangled bicycles and the corpses of the young, many still clutching blue-wrapped chocolate bars.

Two houses partially collapsed, reportedly killing a family of seven, and another building was set on fire in one of the worst outrages the city has witnessed this year.

A total of 31 people were wounded in the explosion, many of them also children, and a U.S. soldier was among the dead.

Moments before, locals said, the street had been filled with the sound of shouting and laughter as the youngsters, most aged between six and 13, excitedly surrounded the line of U.S. Humvees.

Witness Mohammed Ali Hamza said the troops had come to warn residents to stay indoors precisely because of reports of a car bomb in the area.

"Children gathered round the Americans who were handing out candy. Suddenly a suicide car bomber drove round from a side street and blew himself up," he said.

The U.S. military operation in Iraq has had far more success in gaining trust from the city's young than its adults, not least because Baghdad's children know the shout of "Hey, Mister" or simply "Hello" is often rewarded with a treat.

This time the children of the city's Jedidah district thought they were in particular luck.

The convoy had piles of sweets and key-rings featuring a smiley face in a baseball cap.

Word spread, drawing more children to the spot.

"My friend Abbas ran out," said Amer Hamad, 13. "I shouted at him to wait for me but by then he was already on the street. It was then the car came from a side street and blew up."

The dead were taken to Kindi hospital, where small, wooden coffins were laid out in the courtyard.

Mothers ripped open their black robes, threw themselves on the ground, wailing in anguish and slapping their faces.

Abu Mohammed's son had shrapnel lodged in his head but was alive. "All the rest of his friends died," Mr. Mohammed said.

The official in charge of the morgue at Kindi hospital said it had received the bodies of 24 children aged between 10 and 13.