Deadly Car Bomb Targets Police in Central Iraq

Suicide bombing is second significant attack in Iraq since death of Osama bin Laden

Investigators inspect the site of a bomb attack in Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad, on Thursday, May 5, 2011. (Photo credit: Reuters)

The Associated Press and Reuters via MSNBC.com
May 5, 2011

BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomber crashed his vehicle into a barrier outside a police building in central Iraq on Thursday, killing 20 policemen and wounding dozens more, an official said.

The blast is the second significant attack in Iraq since the death of Osama bin Laden Monday at the hands of a U.S. commando team in Pakistan. Iraqis have been on edge, waiting for al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq to strike back as a way to demonstrate it is still dangerous. …

A police official said the bomber hit when the officers were assembling in a square in front of the police building for a shift change in the city of Hillah, about 60 miles south of the capital Baghdad.

A member of the Hillah city council, Mahmoud al-Murshidi, who spoke to The Associated Press from the hospital, said 20 were killed and 43 people were wounded in the bombing. He said all the casualties were policemen. …

The fact that the bomber was able to wipe out so many policemen in one blast immediately raised questions about security at the building. …

Hillah is a predominantly Shiite city but its proximity to the Triangle of Death — a mainly Sunni area that at one time was one of the most dangerous in the country — has made it a frequent target of Sunni extremists. …

On Tuesday, a car bomb tore through a cafe in Baghdad packed with young men watching a soccer match on TV, killing at least 16 people.

Most of the dead and wounded in the cafe were young people. The blast occurred in a Shiite enclave in the former insurgent stronghold of Dora, an area in southwestern Baghdad that saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq conflict. …

Full story

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5/6/11 Update

Pakistanis burn the U.S. flag in condemnation of bin Laden’s killing. (Photo credit: Arshad Butt / AP)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — May 5, 2010

Pro-Iran Pact Emerges in Iraq

One year ago today, I reported that Iraq’s two largest Shiite electoral blocs announced they had formed an alliance, giving them a strong chance of forming the next government, heavily supported by neighboring Iran.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — May 5, 2009

Iraq Wants U.S. Out of Cities

A boy inspects the aftermath of a car bombing in Baghdad on Monday, May 4, 2009. (Photo credit: Hadi Mizban / AP)

Two years ago today, on May 5, 2009, I reported that Iraq’s government ruled out allowing U.S. combat troops to remain in Iraqi cities after the June 30, 2009 deadline for their withdrawal, despite concern that Iraqi forces might not be able to cope with the security challenge following a resurgence of bombings.