Car Bombs Tear through Baghdad, Fallujah

At least 36 dead, 95 wounded in worst attack since end of major U.S. combat

Iraqis gather as a bulldozer removes debris after a car bomb attack in Baghdad’s Kazimiyah neighborhood, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010. Two car bombs exploded during the morning rush hour killing and wounding scores of people, police said. (Photo credit: Karim Kadim / AP)

By Barbara Surk

September 19, 2010

BAGHDAD — Three car bombs tore through Baghdad and the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah Sunday, killing at least 36 people. The blasts in the capital were so powerful they sheared the sides off buildings and left streets choked with chunks of rubble.

It was the worst violence since the U.S. military dropped to 50,000 troops in Iraq and formally declared an end to combat operations on Sept. 1, saying Iraqi forces were up to the task of protecting their own country.

Insurgents have hammered Iraqi forces and government buildings, capitalizing on gaps in security as the U.S. scales back its military mission and Iraqi politicians fail to overcome divisions and form a new government after national elections in March.

Most of those killed in Sunday’s apparently coordinated attacks in Baghdad were civilians, and residents of the areas bombed directed their anger at a government they feel has left the city vulnerable to repeated attacks despite a network of police and army checkpoints paralyzing traffic. …

The deadliest attack took place in Baghdad’s northern Kazimiyah neighborhood. A car bomb detonated near a local office of the National Security Ministry in Adan Square, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 70, police and hospital officials said. …

Minutes earlier, another car bomb killed at least 10 people and injured 10 others along a commercial artery of Baghdad’s Mansour neighborhood, said army Brig. Gen. Ali Fadhal, who is responsible for the western half of the city. The bomb detonated near an AsiaCell store, one of Iraq’s biggest mobile phone providers. …

Iraqis inspect a crater caused by a suicide car bomb targeting a crowded commercial area near an AsiaCell store, one of Iraq’s biggest mobile phone providers in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010. (Photo credit: AP)

In Fallujah, a suicide attacker in a car struck an Iraqi army patrol in the city’s busy commercial district, killing one Iraqi soldier and four civilians, according to police and hospital officials. At least 15 people were wounded in the attack. …

Earlier Sunday, a roadside bomb killed two people in a minibus in the Shula neighborhood of northwestern Baghdad, police and hospital officials said.

An Iraqi soldier secures the scene of a suicide car bomb targeting a crowded commercial area near an AsiaCell store, seen in the background, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010. (Photo credit: AP)

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9/23/10 Update

Fallujah strike highlights Iraq’s security concerns (AP, Sept. 23, 2010) – For a few hours last week, a part of Fallujah was a flashback to the depths of the Iraq war when insurgents ruled the city and its streets were shooting galleries. During an afternoon raid, gunmen exchanged fire with American and Iraqi commandos. Panicked civilians ran for cover or grabbed weapons of their own. … Full story

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9/26/10 Update

Blast near Fallujah kills 4 Iraqi police (AP, Sept. 26, 2010) — A car packed with explosives blew up Sunday near the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, killing four policemen in the latest sign that insurgents could be trying to win back old strongholds, Iraqi officials said. Attacks elsewhere in the country killed at least four others. … Full story

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Related reports on this site

Iraqi Soldier Guns Down U.S. Troops (Sept. 8, 2010)

Colossal Taxpayer Waste in Iraq (Aug. 29, 2010)

Wave of Bombings Across Iraq (Aug. 26, 2010)

Horrific Baghdad Bombing (Aug. 18, 2010)

Iraq War: ‘Ten More Years’ (Aug. 12, 2010)

Iraq Civilian Deaths at 2-Year High (Aug. 1, 2010)

Iraq Security Remains Fragile (July 22, 2010)

Mayhem in Baghdad (July 18, 2010)

Iraq Election Violence Continues (June 20, 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)

Triple Bombing Rocks Baghdad (Jan. 25, 2010)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — September 19, 2009

The FBI arrested Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old Afghan-born Pakistani immigrant in Denver on charges of making false statements to federal agents in a terrorism investigation. Supporting documents contend the man admitted receiving weapons and explosives training from al-Qaida in Pakistan.

9 Coalition Troops Killed

One year ago today, I reported that nine international (ISAF) troops had been killed in Afghanistan in a single day. Meanwhile, an Afghan-born immigrant from Pakistan under investigation in a terrorism probe in New York and Denver reportedly admitted a link with al-Qaida.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — September 19, 2008

A satellite image of North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex shows the reactor’s cooling tower (circled), which was demolished in front of international observers on June 27, 2008. (Photo credit: Reuters via The Guardian)

After the Primary Election: Day 10

Two years ago today, on the 10th day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported that a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crash killed seven U.S. soldiers in Iraq; posted a daily summary of security incidents in Iraq; and reported that North Korea was preparing to restart its Yongbyon nuclear reactor.