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| Iraq |
| Iraq suicide bomber kills 43 at army office |
| 2010-07-19 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] A suicide bomber killed 43 people and wounded at least 41 at an army office west of Baghdad on Sunday, as anti-Qaeda fighters gathered to receive their salaries, defense and interior ministry officials said. The bomber struck in Al-Balassim, part of Radwaniyah, a Sunni Arab former insurgent hotspot, 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the Iraqi capital, an interior ministry official said. In Sunday's blast, the suicide bomber blew himself up among "Sahwa" militiamen, Sunni fighters who once allied with al-Qaeda but turned on the militant group in 2006/07, helping U.S. forces turn the tide in the war. The force, recruited from among tribesmen and former insurgents, is credited with turning the tide in the war against al-Qaeda in Iraq. Control of the Sahwa passed to Iraq in October 2008, and their wages -- said to have been cut from $300 under U.S. leadership to $100 -- have been paid, often late, by the Shiite-led government. Baghdad has promised to incorporate 20 percent of the Sahwa into the police and military and find civil service jobs for many of the rest, but the process has been slow and is fraught with risks. In the past six months many Sahwa fighters and members of their families have been killed in revenge attacks. The former rebels and tribesmen fret that they are not only in the firing line for al-Qaeda but also viewed with suspicion by the Shiite-led central government. U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned of the dangers of an upsurge of violence if negotiations on forming a new governing coalition continue to drag on, giving insurgent groups an opportunity to further destabilize the country. More than four months after a March 7 general election which gave no single bloc an overall parliamentary majority, the two lists which won most seats are still bickering over who should be the next prime minister. Both former premier Iyad Allawi and incumbent Nouri al-Maliki insist that they are best placed to tackle the war-torn country's insecurity and shaky public services. The U.S. military has increasingly taken a backseat role since pulling out of Iraqi urban centers in June last year and U.S. troops will end combat operations on Aug. 31 ahead of a full withdrawal next year. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 WORLD NEWS > IRAQ: AL QAEDA TARGETS THE MILITIAMEN RECRUITED TO FIGHT THEM, KILLING 45. * ION SAME > ALLIES MAY FRET, BUT OBAMA KNOWS AMERICA'S ROLE WELL. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-07-19 01:46 |