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Dec 1st, 2008


Bombs Tear Through Baghdad, Mosul

At least 33 dead in suicide attacks on police academy, joint patrol

Image: Baghdad bomb attacks site.
U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police secure the site of bomb attacks at a police academy in eastern Baghdad on Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. (Photo credit: Thaier Al-Sudani / Reuters


Dec. 1, 2008

BAGHDAD — A series of bombs struck U.S. and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul on Monday, killing at least 33 people and wounding dozens including four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi general.

The bloody attacks came less than a week after the Iraqi parliament approved a security pact with the United States that lets the Americans stay in Iraq for three more years.

At least 16 people were killed in a nearly simultaneous double-bombing near a police academy in eastern Baghdad. A suicide attacker detonated his explosives vest packed with ball-bearings at an entrance to the academy, then a car bomb exploded about 150 yards away, apparently aimed at those responding to the initial blast, the U.S. military said. …

Scene of carnage

Bloodied police uniforms and a military boot left by victims were scattered with the crumpled metal hulk of the car bomb on the charred street in the aftermath of the bombing, according to Associated Press Television News footage. …

Those killed included five policemen and 11 recruits, and nearly 50 were wounded, according to police and hospital officials …

The twin bombings occurred shortly after a roadside bomb elsewhere in Baghdad targeted Maj. Gen. Mudhir al-Mola, a senior government official overseeing affairs related to U.S.-allied fighters who recently have been turned over to government control in the capital. …

Another roadside bomb struck a police patrol in eastern Baghdad, killing one officer and wounding four other people.

Attack in Mosul

In Mosul, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives as a joint U.S.-Iraqi convoy drove by in a crowded commercial area, a police officer said.

Mohammed al-Nuaimi, a 30-year-old employee of a nearby tire store, said local businessmen had received verbal warnings that the explosion would occur so they should evacuate the area.

“We started to close our shops and people were trying to flee when a U.S.-Iraqi convoy passed. One minute later, a big explosion took place and I was thrown to the ground and lost consciousness,” he said in a telephone interview from his hospital bed.

At least 15 people were killed and 30 wounded in that attack, the officer said. …

Conflict in Iraq video

Bombs kill dozens in Iraq (MSNBC, Dec. 1, 2008) — Suicide attacks in Baghdad and Mosul kill at least 31 people. MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer reports. (00:26)

——

NPR Journalists’ Car Bombed in Baghdad


Nov. 30, 2008

BAGHDAD — An American journalist for National Public Radio and three Iraqi colleagues escaped injury Sunday when a bomb attached to their car exploded as it was parked along a street in west Baghdad.

Ivan Watson, a 33-year-old reporter for NPR on temporary assignment in Iraq, said he had gone to interview people in a kebab cafe a few yards from an Iraqi army checkpoint.

Watson, who is normally based in Istanbul, Turkey, was accompanied by producer and translator Ali Hamdani and two drivers who refused to be named for security reasons.

The group returned to their armored car, which was parked out front, about 45 minutes later but were stopped by Iraqi soldiers who said they had been informed minutes earlier that a bomb was attached to the car, Watson said.

The bomb, which had been placed underneath the driver’s side, exploded about 15 feet from the NPR journalists. It destroyed the car but nobody was injured, according to NPR. …

Use of so-called “sticky bombs” attached to cars, buses and trucks has become increasingly common in Baghdad since increased security has made it difficult for extremists to use truck bombs.

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South Korea Ends Iraq Deployment, Troops Head Home


Dec. 1, 2008

IRBIL, Iraq — A South Korean general offered a wish for peace in Iraq on Monday as his troops ended a five-year reconstruction mission in the country — the latest departure from the dwindling U.S.-led coalition.

The South Koreans are among troops from 13 countries being sent home in advance of the Dec. 31 expiration of the U.N. mandate that authorized military operations in Iraq. The South Koreans will begin leaving Wednesday and are all due to depart by Dec. 20, the country’s military said. …

At its height, the coalition numbered about 300,000 soldiers from 38 countries — 250,000 from the United States, about 40,000 from Britain, and the rest ranging from 2,000 Australians to 70 Albanians.

Besides the Americans, the only coalition troops to remain in Iraq after the mandate expires will be the United States’ biggest ally, Britain, as well as Australia, El Salvador, Estonia and Romania. …

The U.S. now has more than 150,000 troops in Iraq, compared with 4,000 for Britain, the second-largest contributor. Those countries whose troops remain in Iraq will negotiate their own agreements with the Iraqi government. …

Some South Koreans believed participating in the Iraq operation would strengthen ties to the United States.

However, the deployment has been unpopular among some South Koreans, who generally view the U.S.-led war in Iraq as unjust. …





2 Responses to “Bombs Rip Through Iraq Cities”
  1. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Iraq-Afghanistan Casualties Says:

    […] Bombs Rip Through Iraq Cities […]

  2. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Afghan Policeman Kills US Troops Says:

    […] Bombs Rip Through Iraq Cities […]

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