Twin Blasts Hit Iraqi Schoolgirls’ Bus; 31 Killed, 71 Wounded

Iraqis gather at the site of car bomb explosions Monday, Nov. 10, 2008 in Baghdad. (Photo credit: Khaldoon Zubeir / Getty Images)

Nov. 10, 2008

BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber struck Monday in a crowd that had gathered where an explosion moments earlier damaged a bus full of schoolgirls, with both blasts killing at least 31 people and wounding 71 others, officials said.

Also Monday, a woman suicide bomber attacked a security checkpoint in downtown Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing five people including a local leader of Sunni group opposed to al-Qaida, police said. Fifteen other people were wounded in that explosion.

The twin Baghdad blasts — the deadliest in the city in months — occurred moments apart during the morning rush hour in the mostly Shiite Kasrah section of the Azamiyah district in the northern part of the Iraqi capital. …

‘Message’ for Obama?

An Interior Ministry official speculated that extremists may have sought to “send a message” to President-elect Barack Obama about “the real situation in Iraq,” pressure the government not to sign a new security agreement with the United States or embarrass the ruling parties ahead of regional elections in January. …

Associated Press Television News video showed the minibus pocked with shrapnel marks with the floor soaked in blood. Girls’ shoes were scattered about amid the wreckage. …

No group claimed responsibility for the blasts, the single deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital in weeks. …

Uptick in small-scale bombings

Violence is down significantly in Baghdad since the worst of the Sunni-Shiite fighting in 2006 and 2007.

In recent weeks, however, there appears to have been an uptick in small-scale bombings during the morning rush hour — targeting Iraqi police and army patrols, government officials heading for work or commuters, in an attempt to undermine public confidence.

At least 24 people were killed Oct. 2 in suicide attacks against two Shiite mosques in Baghdad. A string of explosions Sept. 28 in mostly Shiite areas of Baghdad killed at least 32 people and wounded nearly 100.

The continuing attacks show the determination of extremist groups to continue the fight against the U.S.-backed government and lie behind U.S. military concern about drawing down the 151,000-member U.S. military force too quickly. …

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Security Developments in Iraq

Following are security developments in Iraq on Nov. 9, 2008 as reported by Reuters.

MOSUL – A suicide bomber targeting a police patrol wounded eleven people in southern Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad, police said. Six of the wounded were policemen.

MOSUL – A roadside bomb struck an Iraqi military patrol on Sunday in eastern Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad, killing three soldiers and wounding four, police said.

MOSUL – Gunmen opened fire on a police checkpoint in western Mosul, wounding three people, including two police, police said.

ISKANDARIYA – Police found the bodies of two people who had been blindfolded and shot in Iskandariya, 25 miles south of Baghdad, police said.

NEAR HILLA – A man was found shot dead on Saturday just south of Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad, police said.

NEAR FALLUJA – A female suicide bomber killed three people and wounded seven others, including a doctor and his wife, inside a hospital at Amiriyat al-Falluja, just south of Falluja, police said. Falluja is 30 miles west of Baghdad.

BAGHDAD – A roadside bomb wounded six people including two policemen when it targeted their patrol in the Ghadir district of eastern Baghdad, police said.

TUZ KHURMATO – Gunmen wounded three policemen in a drive-by shooting on their checkpoint in central Tuz Khurmato, 105 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL – A roadside bomb killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded another in northeast Mosul on Saturday, 240 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL – A roadside bomb wounded a civilian in Mosul on Saturday, police said.

BAGHDAD – A roadside bomb killed one U.S. soldier and wounded two others in northern Baghdad on Saturday, the U.S. military said.