Two bombs kill at least 37 in Iraq
15 Aug 2011 07:55
Source: reuters // Reuters
Iraqi policemen inspect the site of a bomb attack in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad August 15, 2011. At least one person was killed and 14 wounded in a bomb attack in Kirkuk, police sources said on Monday. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed
BAGHDAD, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Two bombs tore through a public square in the southern Iraqi city of Kut on Monday, killing at least 37 people in the worst in a string of bombings and suicide attacks across the country, officials said.
A roadside bomb exploded in Kut, a mainly Shi'ite Muslim city 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad, followed by a car bomb when security forces arrived on the scene, security officials said.
Dhiyauddin Jalil, a director of Wasit provincial health department, said at least 37 people were killed, and more than 68 were wounded in the blasts.
"Hospitals are still receiving casualties, but the situation is under control," Khamis al-Saad, Iraq's deputy health minister, told Reuters.
Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply since the heights of sectarian slaughter in 2006-07. But Sunni Muslim insurgents and Shi'ite militants are increasingly targeting local security forces and government offices as the last American troops prepare to withdraw by the end of year.
Dozens more were killed on Monday in other bombings and attacks in other cities.
At least eight people were killed and 14 wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a municipality building in the province of Diyala, two police sources said on Monday.
The attack happened in Khan Bani Saad, about 30 km (20 miles) northeast of Baghdad.
Two suicide bombers attacked an Iraqi counter-terrorism unit in Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, killing at least two policemen and wounding six in a failed attempt to free al Qaeda prisoners, a police official said.
One attacker detonated his suicide vest hoping to kill a high-ranking counter-terrorism officer and the other was shot dead during the attack, said Captain Jassim al-Jibouri, an officer with the Tikrit counter terrorism unit.
In the southern holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, at least three people were killed and 19 more wounded when two car bombs exploded, authorities said. Police captain Hadi al-Najafi in Najaf said the bombs targeted a police building.
Kut had been relatively quiet since August last year when a suicide bomber killed 30 policemen and destroyed a police station as the U.S. military ended combat operations in Iraq.
More than eight years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, U.S. soldiers are scheduled to leave by the end of the year. But Iraqi and U.S. officials are discussing whether some stay on as trainers after 2011. (Reporting by Kahlid al-Ansary and Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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As wave of violence hits Iraq, 10 die in Diyala
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BAGHDAD – An Iraqi spokesman says 10 people have been killed in the restive Diyala province as a wave of violence struck across Iraq.
The blasts in Diyala raised the nationwide death toll to 52 in attacks that ranged from the northern city of Kirkuk to the southern cities of Najaf of Kut.
A spokesman for the Diyala province health directorate, Faris al-Azawi, said at least seven explosions went off in cities across Diyala on Monday morning. More than 50 people were also wounded in the Diyala blasts.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Bomb blasts ripped through at least five Iraqi cities Monday morning, killing 42 people — most of them in the southern city of Kut — in a wave of violence that shattered what had been a relatively peaceful holy month of Ramadan.
The violence struck from the northern city of Kirkuk to the capital of Baghdad to the southern cities of Najaf and Kut, and emphasized the persistent ability of insurgents to wreak havoc at a time when Iraqi officials are weighing whether they are able to protect the country without the assistance of American troops.
The blasts were coordinated to go off in the morning and included a combination of parked car bombs, roadside bombs and a suicide bomber driving a vehicle that rammed into a police station.
The worst violence came in the southern city of Kut, 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, where twin explosions went off as construction workers were gathered in a market selling generators and other appliances.
Police spokesman Lt. Col. Dhurgam Mohammed Hassan said the first bomb went off in a freezer used to keep drinks cold. Then as rescuers and onlookers gathered, a parked car bomb exploded.
The top medical official in the province where Kut is located, Diaa al-Aboudi, said 34 people died in the explosion. Al-Aboudi put the number of the wounded from the twin blasts at 64.
At roughly the same time, a suicide car bomber plowed his vehicle into a checkpoint outside a police building just outside the holy city of Najaf, said Luay al-Yassiri, head of the Najaf province security committee.
Police opened fire on the vehicle when the driver refused to stop at the checkpoint, and then the vehicle exploded. Al-Yassiri said four people were killed and 32 injured; among the dead were two policemen and two civilians.
In the northern city of Tikrit, two men wearing explosives belts drove into a heavily guarded government compound wearing military uniforms which helped them avoid notice by the guards, said Mohammed al-Asi, the provincial spokesman.
The men parked their vehicle and then walked to a building housing the anti-terrorism police. When the men approached the building, the guards ordered them to stop and then opened fire. One bomber was immediately killed but the other managed to get inside the building before blowing himself up and killed three people, al-Asi said. Ten people were also injured in the attack.
It was another embarrassing security breach for security officials at the compound. Earlier this year, insurgents managed to penetrate the compound's security and attack a mosque where many prominent officials were at prayer.
In the northern city of Kirkuk, a car bomb exploded next to a police patrol Monday morning, injuring four police officers. Then about thirty minutes later one person was killed when a motorcycle with a bomb planted inside it exploded. Late Sunday, four bombs also blew up near a Syrian Orthodox Church in Kirkuk. No one was injured in the attack but the walls of the church were damaged.
In Baghdad, a parked car bomb exploded near a convoy carrying officials from the Ministry of Higher Education, said police and health officials. Eight people were wounded, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The minister was not inside the convoy.
Violence has dropped considerably in Iraq from the heyday of the war when such bloody bombings were an almost daily occurrence. But the persistence of the violence in Iraq, albeit at a lower level, underscores the ability of insurgents to undermine the country's security.
The Kut blasts were the first major act of violence since Iraq's political leaders earlier this month announced that they would begin negotiations with the United States over whether to keep a small number of American forces in the country past Dec. 31. The last such single large bombing came on July 5, when 37 people died during an explosion in Taji, north of Baghdad.
All American forces are to leave the country by the end of this year but both Iraqi and U.S. officials have expressed concern about the ability of Iraqi forces to protect the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's attacks.
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Wave of bomb attacks in Iraqi cities kill at least 57
An Iraqi policeman inspects the site of a bomb attack in central Kirkuk, 250km north of Baghdad, today. Photograph: Ako Rasheed/ReutersAn Iraqi policeman inspects the site of a bomb attack in central Kirkuk, 250km north of Baghdad, today. Photograph: Ako Rasheed/Reuters
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Bombs detonated in more than a dozen Iraqi cities today, killing scores of people in a wave of violence that shattered what had been a relatively peaceful holy month of Ramadan.
The violence, in which at least 57 people died, struck from the northern city of Kirkuk to Baghdad to the southern Shia cities of Najaf, Kut and Karbala.
The blasts were co-ordinated to go off in the morning and included a combination of parked car bombs, roadside bombs and a suicide bomber driving a vehicle that rammed into a police station.
A roadside bomb and a car bomb killed at least 37 people and wounded 64 in Iraq's Kut city, police said.
The bomb exploded in a public square in the city, 150km southeast of Baghdad, and a car bomb detonated when security forces arrived on the scene. (2)
In Diyala province, seven bombs went off in the capital of Baquba and towns nearby. Five soldiers were killed in Baquba while six people were killed in other attacks around the province.(2+7=9)
Just outside the holy city of Najaf, a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint outside a police building.(9+1=10)
Police opened fire when the driver refused to stop and then the vehicle exploded. Four people were killed and 32 injured; among the dead were two policemen and two civilians.
Outside Karbala, a parked car bomb targeting a police station killed three policemen and injured 14 others.(10+1=11)
In the northern city of Tikrit two men wearing explosives belts drove into a heavily guarded government compound wearing military uniforms. provincial spokesman.
They walked to a building housing the anti-terrorism police. When the men approached the building, the guards ordered them to stop and then opened fire. One bomber was immediately killed but the other managed to get inside the building before blowing himself up and killing three people.(11+1=12)
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FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, August 15
15 Aug 2011 12:53
Source: reuters // Reuters
Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1245 GMT on Monday.
* Indicates a new or updated item.
* BAGHDAD - A parked car bomb targeting a police patrol killed one passer-by and wounded nine people, including three policemen, in Baghdad's southern Ilaam district, an Interior Ministry source said.
* SAADIYA - Gunmen in a car shot dead Kurdish politician Abbas Hassan in front of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party headquarters in the town of Saadiya, , 100 km (70 miles) northeast of Baghdad, a local police source said.
* BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb wounded five people, including three soldiers, when it went off near an Iraqi army patrol in Baghdad's west-central Utaifiya district, an Interior Ministry source said.
KUT - At least 37 people were killed and more than 68 others wounded when a roadside bomb followed by a car bomb exploded in central Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad, local police and health officials said.
KHAN BANI SAAD - At least eight people were killed and 14 wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a municipality building in the town of Khan Bani Saad, about 30 km (20 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police sources said.
TIKRIT - At least two policemen were killed and six others wounded when two suicide bombers attacked an Iraqi counter-terrorism unit in Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, in a failed attempt to free al Qaeda prisoners, a police official said.
NAJAF - At least six people were killed and up to 79 others wounded when two car bombs exploded near a police building in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, health and security officials in Najaf said.
HINDIYA - A car bomb killed four people and wounded 41 others when it exploded near a police station in Hindiya, near Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, Jamal Mahdi, spokesman for the health department in Kerbala, said.
AL-WAJEHIYA - A parked car bomb near a government building killed one person and wounded 13 others when it went off in the town of al-Wajehiya, northeast of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police sources said.
KIRKUK - A parked car bomb and a motorcycle bomb killed one person and wounded 12 others in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, hospital and police sources in Kirkuk said.
ISKANDARIYA - A car bomb targeting a police patrol wounded four people, including two policemen, in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, a local police source said.
TAJI - A parked car bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol killed one person and wounded five, including four soldiers, in the town of Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.
BAGHDAD - A bomb placed inside a mobile phone shop killed one person and wounded five others in Baghdad's southeastern Zaafaraniya district, an Interior Ministry source said.
BAQUBA - A parked motorcycle bomb targeting the convoy of Abdulla al-Hiyali, a local provincial official, wounded six people, including two of his family members, when it exploded in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police sources said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb wounded three passers-by in Baghdad's western Ghazaliya district, an Interior Ministry source said.
BAGHDAD - A parked car bomb wounded five people when it exploded near a Higher Ministry official convoy in Baghdad's west-central Mansour district, an Interior Ministry source said.
BALAD - A bomb placed near a municipal council building wounded six people when it exploded in Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, local police said.
MOSUL - Two bombs placed near electricity poles killed one passer-by and wounded three others when they went off in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source in Mosul said.
MOSUL - A bomb placed inside a bag wounded a policeman when it went off in eastern Mosul, a police source said.
KANAAN - Gunmen using silenced weapons wounded Ali al-Karkhi, a local government-backed Sahwa militia leader, and one of his guards late on Sunday in Kanaan, 70 km (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police sources said. (Compiled by Baghdad bureau)
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7 pulled from Iraqi mosque, killed execution-style
Updated 38m ago
Comments5
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say gunmen wearing military uniforms pulled seven people from a Sunni mosque south of Baghdad and then shot and killed them, execution-style.
Violence continued in Iraq with the execution killings of seven people pulled from a mosque. Earlier, people inspected bomb damage.
By Hadi Mizban, AP
Violence continued in Iraq with the execution killings of seven people pulled from a mosque. Earlier, people inspected bomb damage.
Enlarge
By Hadi Mizban, AP
Violence continued in Iraq with the execution killings of seven people pulled from a mosque. Earlier, people inspected bomb damage.
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The killings happened late Monday, on a day that saw a wave of violence sweep across Iraq, from the northern city of Mosul to the Shiite heartland. They raised the day's death toll to 70.
Officials with the Ministry of Interior and the town hospital say the gunmen walked into the Sunni mosque in Youssifiyah during evening prayers, took the seven men outside and shot them.
The men were all members of an anti-al-Qaeda militia. Youssifiyah is about 12 miles south of Baghdad.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
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108 killed, injured, in final result of Kut’s Monday blast
8/17/2011 10:16 AM
WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: The final result of the booby-trapped car blast in southern Iraq’s city of Kut, the center of Wassit Province on Monday night, has reached 108 people, killed or injured, Wassit Health Department’s media source reported on Wednesday.
“The final result of the booby-trapped car explosion in central Kut on Monday night, has reached 40 persons killed and 68 others injured,” Falah Qassem told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, adding that 10 of the injured persons had left hospitals after their treatment.
Noteworthy is that a double-blast of an explosive charge and a booby-trapped car close to the goldsmith shops market in central Kut on Monday night, had killed 34 people and injured 64 others.
Kut, the center of Wassit Provnce, is 180 km to the southeast of Baghdad.
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