A man sits in front of his shop which was destroyed in a car bomb attack near Haifa Street Reuters – A man sits in front of his shop which was destroyed in a car bomb attack near Haifa Street, central Baghdad …
By Muhanad Mohammed – 37 mins ago
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Bombs targeting Shi'ite areas killed at least 56 people in Baghdad on Friday in a possible backlash after Iraq touted a series of blows against al Qaeda.
Eight people were also killed by bombs in the Sunni west of the country.
Seven blasts hit different areas of the Iraqi capital around the time of Muslim prayers, mostly near Shi'ite mosques and at a marketplace, an interior ministry source said. Around 112 people were wounded.
"Targeting prayers in areas with a certain majority," Baghdad security spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said, referring to Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority, "is a revenge for the losses suffered by al Qaeda.
"We expect such terrorist acts to continue."
Last Sunday, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported head of its affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, were killed in a raid in a rural area northwest of Baghdad by Iraqi and U.S. forces.
In Friday's attacks, at least 21 people were killed and more than that number were wounded when three bombs exploded in populated Sadr City slum.
Another bomb killed at least 11 and wounded 17 near a Shi'ite mosque in al-Ameen district in southeastern Baghdad. An earlier car bomb killed three people near a Shi'ite mosque in the northwestern neighborhood of al-Hurriya, police said.
Hours earlier, seven members of one family were killed in a series of blasts in Khalidiya, a town in Iraq's turbulent western province of Anbar 83 km (50 miles) west of Baghdad. One police officer died trying to defuse a bomb.
The mainly Sunni province of Anbar has been relatively quiet since tribal leaders in 2006 started turning on Sunni Islamist groups such as al Qaeda who had once dominated it. But insurgents continue to operate in the vast desert province.
"At four in the morning, I heard a movement behind my house and found some barrels nearby, so I took my family out of the house," said Fadhil Salih, a judge at the Khalidiya courthouse.
"An hour later the bomb went off and destroyed my house but, thank God, there were no casualties in my family," Salih said.
At least 10 people were wounded in the blasts, including two policemen. Authorities imposed a ban on vehicles and motorbikes in Khalidiya after the blasts.
AL QAEDA IN IRAQ UNDER PRESSURE
Iraqi officials say they have been expecting revenge attacks from Sunni Islamist insurgents after security forces scored a number of victories against al Qaeda in the past month.
The strike against al Qaeda's Iraq leadership has been accompanied by a string of smaller battlefield victories in which more than 300 suspected al Qaeda operatives have been arrested and 19 killed, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Overall violence in Iraq has fallen in the last two years as the sectarian bloodshed that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion faded, but tensions were stoked last month after a national election that produced no clear winner.
Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's bloc came a close second to a cross-sectarian alliance heavily backed by the once-dominant minority Sunni community.
But Maliki's allies are attempting to capture the lead through a recount of votes in Baghdad and through court challenges to winning candidates because of their alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party.
(Additional reporting by Fadhel al-Badrani in Falluja; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Michael Christie and Robert Woodward)
Death toll now 56 from bombs in Iraqi capital
23 Apr 2010 12:26:19 GMT
Source: Reuters
BAGHDAD, April 23 (Reuters) - The toll from several bomb blasts that struck Shi'ite areas of the Iraqi capital on Friday reached 56 killed and 112 wounded, an Interior Ministry source said.
The bombings near mosques and a market occurred as the Iraqi security forces touted a series of battlefield victories against al Qaeda, including the killing last Sunday of the militant group's two top leaders in Iraq. (Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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Bombs kill 69 in Iraq's deadliest day this year
By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press Writer Rebecca Santana, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 23 mins ago
BAGHDAD – The bloodiest day of the year in Iraq left at least 69 people dead in a series of bombings in mainly Shiite areas Friday — concerted attacks seen as demonstrating the resilience of the Sunni-led insurgency after the slaying of two al-Qaida leaders last weekend.
No one has taken responsibility for the blasts, but officials were quick to blame Sunni-led insurgent groups for attacking at a particularly fragile time as Iraq awaits formation of a new government and prepares for U.S. troops to go home by the end of next year.
The protracted political wrangling since contentious March 7 elections has raised fears of sectarian violence akin to that seen at the height of the war.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lashed out at the bombers in a statement Friday night, saying the insurgents were trying to fight back after Iraqi security forces killed the two al-Qaida in Iraq leaders on April 18.
"The cowardly terrorist attacks that occurred today were intending to cover the great success achieved by the security forces through the killing of the leaders of wickedness and terrorism, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri," al-Maliki said.
He also called on Iraqis to stand firm against Baathists, former members of the Baath Party that ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The term "Baathist" strikes a particular chord with many Shiites who fear the party's followers may yet rise again to rule the country; Sunnis often feel the word is a thinly veiled attack on all of the minority sect.
Officials have warned that the insurgents remain capable of staging high-profile bombings despite the killing of their two leaders, which U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called a "potentially devastating blow" to al-Qaida in Iraq.
Friday's apparently coordinated attacks came in a two-hour span shortly after the Shiites' call to prayer across the capital. The major blasts were in former Shiite militia strongholds, underscoring the insurgents' professed aim of provoking a new round of sectarian bloodshed. Among the targets of the car and roadside bombs were three Shiite mosques.
In the vast eastern Baghdad slum of Sadr City, hundreds of worshippers knelt on prayer mats in the streets surrounding the offices of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr when the deadliest blasts went off.
Four strategically located car bombs timed to maximize the carnage killed at least 36 people and wounded nearly 200, according to hospital and police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Aqil Ibrahim, 35, was fixing his taxi when he heard the first explosion.
"I went to see what was going on and to help the wounded worshippers. I saw pieces of human flesh on the ground," he said, holding his bandaged hand.
Flames shot out of nearby parked cars and motorcycles. Blood mixed with water streamed down muddy streets as firefighters worked to put out the blazes, and passers-by frantically tried to help. Shouting men loaded the wounded onto trucks to rush them to the hospital.
One man ran carrying a young girl in a bloodstained pink dress. Others could be seen picking up human remains and burying them in a nearby field before sunset in accordance with Islamic law.
Onlookers in Sadr City threw stones at arriving Iraqi security forces, frustrated that the troops cannot secure the city. The troops fired their guns in the air to scatter the crowd.
Two of the bombs exploded in the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Zafaraniyah, killing one person and wounding 12.
Two others targeted mosques linked with prominent Shiite political leaders. A car bomb at the Hadi al-Chalabi mosque in the Hurriyah neighborhood killed eight people and wounded 19. The mosque is named after the father of Ahmed Chalabi, who was behind much of the faulty intelligence that resulted in the U.S.-led invasion and has since led efforts to bar many Sunni political figures from office.
A bomb targeting the Muhsin al-Hakim mosque killed 14 people and wounded 36. That mosque is named after the grandfather of Ammar al-Hakim, a leading Shiite political figure whose party has ties to Iran.
In the past, such bombings would be followed by revenge attacks by militias against Sunnis, but the retaliatory violence ebbed after al-Sadr's forces were routed by U.S.-Iraqi offensives in 2008.
Three people died in scattered violence elsewhere in the capital.
Bombs also ripped through the houses of Iraqi policemen in the former insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, killing at least seven people, including a soldier trying to defuse one of the devices, authorities said.
April has been the deadliest month in Iraq so far this year, with more than 263 civilians killed in war-related violence, according to an Associated Press count. Still, violence is dramatically lower than past years.
Sadrist lawmaker Bahaa al-Aaraji said Iraq's leaders were more intent on jockeying for position than protecting people.
"Prolonging the time to form the government will pave the way for more attacks," he said. "These attacks represent a warning to the political blocs that they should speed up their efforts to form the government."
Al-Maliki is battling secular challenger Ayad Allawi for the right to form the next government. Al-Maliki's mainly Shiite bloc came out with 89 seats in parliament, compared with 91 for Allawi's Iraqiya coalition, which enjoys widespread Sunni support.
The prime minister has been challenging the vote in the courts, prompting a recount of the ballots in Baghdad that could swing the results in his favor.
The result has been political stagnation that threatens to stretch on for weeks or months. Such periods of political instability have often been accompanied by an increase in violence in Iraq.
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Associated Press writers Lara Jakes, Sameer N. Yacoub, Bushra Juhi, Mazin Yahya and Saad Abdul-Kadir contributed to this report.
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Shiite cleric calls on followers to defend mosques
By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press Writer Rebecca Santana, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 23 mins ago
BAGHDAD – An influential anti-American Shiite cleric called on his followers to defend themselves and places of worship after deadly Baghdad mosque bombings but urged self-restraint to avoid giving the U.S. military an excuse for postponing withdrawal plans.
Friday's bombings — most of them targeting Shiite places of worship as crowds were at prayer — killed 72 people in Iraq's bloodiest day so far this year. Weeping and wailing crowds marched in funeral processions Saturday in the vast eastern Baghdad slum of Sadr City, and their leaders called for three days of mourning.
The cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, issued a statement late Friday calling on "believers" to join the Iraqi army and police "to defend their shrines, mosques, prayers, markets, houses and their towns."
He stopped short of mentioning the Mahdi Army, his once-powerful militia, which used to respond to such attacks with raids on Sunni areas. Several advisers said al-Sadr was offering his assistance to the government in a rare show of magnanimity to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It was al-Maliki who crushed the Mahdi Army in 2008 after the militia led bloody uprisings against American forces.
Al-Sadr urged Iraqi leaders "not to be pulled toward the malicious American plans that intend to pull Iraq into wars and fighting in order to find the pretext for staying on our holy lands." He appeared to be appealing for a renewed commitment, despite continued violence, to stick to a deadline for all U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.
The worst of Friday's violence took place in Sadr City, where four car bombs exploded as hundreds of worshippers knelt on prayer mats in the streets surrounding al-Sadr's Baghdad headquarters. On Saturday, a policeman and a hospital official raised the Sadr City death toll to 39, including two Iraqi soldiers, and 128 injured. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
That brought the total number of killed Friday to 72.
The attacks were widely seen as demonstrating the resilience of the Sunni-led insurgency after the slaying of two al-Qaida leaders last weekend. No one has taken responsibility for the blasts, but officials were quick to blame Sunni-led insurgent groups for attacks that struck at a particularly fragile time as Iraq awaits formation of a new government and prepares for U.S. troops to go home by the end of next year.
Most of the attacks were in former Shiite militia strongholds, underscoring the insurgents' apparent aim of provoking a new round of sectarian bloodshed.
Shortly after dawn Saturday, a half-dozen funeral processions headed from Sadr City to the holy Shiite city of Najaf, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the south. Women in black cloaks comforted crying boys in Sadr City funerals, and anguished men held posters of clerical leaders as they marched.
Sadrist spokesman Abu Zahra announced a three-day mourning period. The office erected a large mourning tent close to where the bombs exploded, and Sadrist supporters gathered to show their support and offer condolences.
Just a few yards away, prayer mats stained with blood that had been used the day before lay over waist-high concrete barriers. On the street where one explosion occurred, pieces of charred flesh and hair stuck to the walls of the houses. There appeared to be little increased presence by Iraqi security forces in the area.
The protracted political wrangling since contentious March 7 elections has raised fears of sectarian violence akin to that seen at the height of the war.
"The government, I hold the government responsible," said Najim Abdul-Hussein, who works at a generator shop in the area where one blast took place. "There is no stability. That's why these attacks are increasing."
Al-Maliki lashed out at the bombers in a statement Friday night, saying the insurgents were trying to fight back after Iraqi security forces killed the two al-Qaida in Iraq leaders on April 18.
April has been the deadliest month in Iraq so far this year, with more than 263 civilians killed in war-related violence, according to an Associated Press count. Still, violence is dramatically lower than past years.
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Iraq govt says Sadr security help not needed
BAGHDAD (AFP) – The Iraqi government said on Saturday that an offer by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to help boost security at strategic sites was unnecessary, in the wake of anti-Shiite attacks in Baghdad.
"I don't think we are lacking men in the security forces, what we are lacking is intelligence," the prime minister's spokesman, Ali al-Mussawi, told AFP.
"We do not believe that security has reached its highest level and certainly there are still deficiencies, but these can be resolved with the support of everyone and (not) by certain mistaken declarations from politicians about the security forces," he added.
In a statement on Friday night, after anti-Shiite attacks rocked Baghdad and killed at least 72 people,
Sadr said he was "ready to supply hundreds of believers to form brigades within the police forces and army to defend the shrines, the mosques, the faithful, the markets, the houses and the people."
"This would prevent us having to rely on the occupation forces for protection and enable the Iraqis to live peacefully."
"The government is free to refuse (our offer) but we are always ready to help," added the radical Shiite leader, whose Sadrist political movement could be the kingmakers in Iraq's next government.
"Friday's attacks were the most deadly since Iraq's March 7 general election, and came just days after the government said Al-Qaeda was on the run.
The violence in the capital, which also wounded 115 people, underscored the unrest that continues to plague a nation whose politicians are struggling to form a government seven weeks after the election.
According to Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for the Sadrist political movement in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Sadr launched his appeal because "we believe that the security forces are insufficient and are infiltrated" by members loyal to the former Sunni-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein.he added.
"That is why we are offering to put members of our movement at (the government's) disposal to boost security,"
Iraq's army and police forces are estimated to number 550,000 men.
In August 2008, Sadr ordered a halt to armed operations by his 60,000-strong militia, blamed by the United States for some of the worst sectarian killings of Sunni Arabs in the war-torn country.
Formed in 2003, it was regarded by many as the most powerful of the Iraqi militias.
Heavy fighting in the spring of 2008 between the Mahdi Army and security forces in Baghdad and the south had left hundreds killed.
Sadr, who lives in self-imposed exile in Iran, also led two uprisings in 2004 against the US forces in Iraq, only to join the US-brokered political process later and accept a place in the governing coalition.
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