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Jun 20th, 2010


Twin Car Bombs Kill 28 in Baghdad

Five others killed in Tikrit as politicians work on new government

Image: Car bomb attack
An Iraqi army soldier stands guard at the site of the car bomb attacks Sunday, June 20, 2010 in Baghdad. (Photo credit: Hadi Mizban / AP)


June 20, 2010

BAGHDAD — Suicide bombers in a crowded Baghdad commercial district and Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit killed at least 33 people Sunday as insurgents tried to turn a monthslong deadlock over forming a new Iraqi government to their advantage.

The attacks added weight to warnings that insurgents would try to foment unrest as politicians squabble over forming a new government more than three months after inconclusive national elections.

The latest violence began when bombers drove two cars packed with nearly 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate toward the gates of the Trade Bank of Iraq building in Baghdad and detonated the explosives after striking the surrounding blast walls, said Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi. …

The explosion capped a week in which about 100 people were killed in bombings and shootings nationwide, including at least 26 who died in a commando-style assault against the central bank in Baghdad last Sunday. An al-Qaida in Iraq front group, the Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it targeted the institution responsible for funneling “oil money and the stolen wealth of Muslims” to the West. …

In other violence, police and morgue officials said the decomposed bodies of six women and a man were found buried in the backyard of a deserted house in the religiously mixed Zayouna neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. The seven victims apparently were killed two to three months ago, the officials said.

Iraqi women are frequently killed by religious extremists who accuse them of behavior deemed un-Islamic.

Two people were killed in a roadside bombing targeting the convoy of the police chief in Duluiyah, a former insurgent stronghold north of Baghdad, although the police chief was not harmed.

Hospital officials also said a man wounded after police opened fire at a protest over power cuts in the southern oil hub of Basra had died, raising the number of demonstrators killed to two. The violence Saturday highlighted growing public anger over a lack of basic services in Iraq. …

———

6/22/10 Update

At Least 9 Iraqis Killed in Bombings

By Sameer N. Yacoub

June 22, 2010

BAGHDAD – Bombs killed at least nine Iraqis on Tuesday, including two leaders of government-backed Sunni militias that have fought al-Qaida in Iraq, officials said.

Members of so-called Awakening Councils, which have been key to a sharp drop in violence in recent years, frequently have been targeted by insurgents, along with government officials and others seen as allied with U.S.-led efforts to stabilize the country.

The violence began Tuesday with an 8 a.m. roadside bomb in the mainly Sunni area of Dora, a former insurgent stronghold in southern Baghdad, that was aimed at a convoy of a senior Transportation Ministry official but missed its target and killed two bystanders. …

In Diyala province north of Baghdad, bombs attached to cars belonging to members of an anti-al-Qaida Sunni group killed two of its leaders in separate attacks. …

A few hours later, another blast killed a vocal al-Qaida critic as he was driving his car in Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad. Police and hospitals officials said the bomb stuck to Najim Abid al-Issawi’s car also wounded his passenger. Al-Qaida militants are believed to have killed al-Issawi’s two brothers.

Also in Baqouba, Diyala’s provincial capital, a motorcycle bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol wounded eight civilians. In Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck near the office of a Shiite religious party, wounding 10 people, including eight guards, according to police and hospital reports.

Bombs attached to cars also killed four people, including a 5-year-old girl, in separate attacks in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information. …

Baghdad has seen a series of high profile bombings since August that have killed hundreds of people and raised questions about the preparedness of Iraq’s security forces to take over from the Americans.

Anger against the government also has been on the rise, as officials continue to dither over naming Iraq’s next leaders amid sorely lacking public services. …

———

6/24/10 Update

Five Killed as Suicide Bombers Target Iraq Troops and Police


June 22, 2010

MOSUL, Iraq — Three suicide bombers killed five police and army personnel and wounded nine others in two separate attacks in Iraq’s restive northern city of Mosul on Thursday, security officials said.

The first attack occurred when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint, killing four policemen and wounding four others, in a western part of Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

Two other suicide bombers attacked the main gate of an Iraqi army base in eastern Mosul, killing one soldier and wounding five, an army source said. …

Iraq is on high alert for insurgent attacks after a March 7 national election produced no clear winner and left the country adrift in political uncertainty. …

———

Related reports on this site

Iraq Fighters Learn from Taliban (June 17, 2010)

Bombings in Iraq, Afghanistan (June 6, 2010)

Explosion Rocks Iraqi Market (May 21, 2010)

‘Dark Days Soaked With Blood’ (May 14, 2010)

Cascade of Violence in Iraq (May 10, 2010)

Iraq Election Turmoil (April 26, 2010)

Bloody Easter in Baghdad (April 4, 2010)

Iraq Election Violence (March 8, 2010)

Iraq Mass Casualty Bombing (Feb. 1, 2010)

———

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — June 20, 2009

Rep. Michele Bachmann sits in a chair.
Rep. Michele Bachmann spent more than $100,000 on printing and franked mail in the first quarter. (Photo credit: John Shinkle / Politico)

Bachmann Big Spender

One-year retrospective: One year ago today I featured a Politico report that U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) was one of the House of Representatives’ biggest spenders on congressional office expenses in the first quarter of 2009. An analysis of the first-quarter 2009 Member’s Representational Allowance (office budget) reports showed Bachmann spent more than $380,000 during the three-month period — more than $100,000 more than the average first-quarter spending.





12 Responses to “Iraq Election Violence Continues”
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