Al Qaeda-style strikes on Shiites in Iraq kill at least 26
The attacks across Iraq appeared coordinated and included car bombings, a favored tactic of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
A
wounded woman walks near the site of a bomb attack in the town of Taji,
about 12 miles north of Baghdad, September 30. A string of car bomb
blasts targeting mainly police checkpoints killed at least 17 people
across Iraq on Sunday, police and hospital sources said.
Saad Shalash/Reuters
Bombs striking Shiite neighborhoods, security forces, and other targets across Iraq killed
at least 26 people Sunday, officials said. It was the latest instance
in which insurgents launched coordinate attacks in multiple cities
across the country in a single day, apparently intending to rekindle
widespread sectarian conflict and undermine public confidence in the
beleaguered government.
The deadliest attack came in the town of Taji, a former Al Qaeda stronghold just north of Baghdad,
where three explosive-rigged cars went off within minutes of each
other. Police said eight people died and 28 were injured in the
back-to-back blasts that began around 7:15 a.m.
In all, at least 94 people were wounded in the wave of attacks that stretched from the restive but oil-rich city of Kirkuk in Iraq's north to the southern Shiite town of Kut.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence, but car bombs are a hallmark of Al Qaeda in Iraq. The Sunni militant network has vowed to take back areas of the country, like Taji, from which it was pushed before US troops withdrew last December.
Shortly after the Taji attacks, police said a suicide bomber set off his explosives-packed car in the Shiite neighborhood of Shula in northwest Baghdad. One person was killed and seven wounded. Police could not immediately identify the target.
"So many people were hurt. A leg of a person was amputated," lamented Shula resident Naeem Frieh. "What have those innocent people done to deserve this?"
And in Baghdad's bustling Karrada neighborhood, a parked car laden with explosives went off next to a police patrol, killing a police officer and a civilian, other officials said. Eight other people were injured. The blast was followed minutes later by another parked car bomb as people gathered, killing three civilians and injuring 12 others, they added. Secondary bomb blasts targeting those coming to help the wounded are a common insurgent tactic.
Elsewhere in the country, another suicide bomber drove a minibus into a security checkpoint in Kut, located 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three police officers were killed and five wounded, Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdul-Hadi Mahbob said.
And in Iraq's north, another policeman was killed when security forces were trying to defuse a car bomb parked on the main highway between the cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato, said Kirkuk police chief Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir. A second policeman was wounded in the blast, Qadir said. Kirkuk is about 180 miles north of Baghdad.
In mid-morning, another parked car bomb went off next to a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in the town of Madain, killing three Iraqis and injuring 11 others included seven Iranians, another police officer and health official said. Madain is a mainly Sunni area located 12 miles southeast of Baghdad.
In the town of Balad Ruz,
45 miles northeast of Baghdad, a parked car bomb targeted a passing
police patrol, killing two policemen and injuring seven others, a police
officer and health official said. And in the nearby town of Khan Bani Saad,
nine miles northeast of Baghdad, yet another parked car bomb exploded
near a market and killed one civilian and injured nine others, they
added.
Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in the town of Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad, when their patrol hit a roadside bomb, another police officer and health official said. Six other people, including four civilians were wounded.
Health officials in Taji, Tarmiyah and Baghdad confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to release information.
Violence has dropped since the height of Iraq's bloodshed a few years ago, but Iraqi forces have failed to stop the attacks that continue to claim lives almost daily.
Senior central government officials were not available for comment.
In all, at least 94 people were wounded in the wave of attacks that stretched from the restive but oil-rich city of Kirkuk in Iraq's north to the southern Shiite town of Kut.
Shortly after the Taji attacks, police said a suicide bomber set off his explosives-packed car in the Shiite neighborhood of Shula in northwest Baghdad. One person was killed and seven wounded. Police could not immediately identify the target.
"So many people were hurt. A leg of a person was amputated," lamented Shula resident Naeem Frieh. "What have those innocent people done to deserve this?"
And in Baghdad's bustling Karrada neighborhood, a parked car laden with explosives went off next to a police patrol, killing a police officer and a civilian, other officials said. Eight other people were injured. The blast was followed minutes later by another parked car bomb as people gathered, killing three civilians and injuring 12 others, they added. Secondary bomb blasts targeting those coming to help the wounded are a common insurgent tactic.
Elsewhere in the country, another suicide bomber drove a minibus into a security checkpoint in Kut, located 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three police officers were killed and five wounded, Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdul-Hadi Mahbob said.
And in Iraq's north, another policeman was killed when security forces were trying to defuse a car bomb parked on the main highway between the cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato, said Kirkuk police chief Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir. A second policeman was wounded in the blast, Qadir said. Kirkuk is about 180 miles north of Baghdad.
In mid-morning, another parked car bomb went off next to a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in the town of Madain, killing three Iraqis and injuring 11 others included seven Iranians, another police officer and health official said. Madain is a mainly Sunni area located 12 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in the town of Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad, when their patrol hit a roadside bomb, another police officer and health official said. Six other people, including four civilians were wounded.
Health officials in Taji, Tarmiyah and Baghdad confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to release information.
Violence has dropped since the height of Iraq's bloodshed a few years ago, but Iraqi forces have failed to stop the attacks that continue to claim lives almost daily.
Senior central government officials were not available for comment.
Related stories
Labels: Conflict, Crisis Politics, Human Relations, Iraq, Islamism
posted by Pieface | 9:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home