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| Iraq |
| Baghdad bombs against Shiites kill 25 |
| 2014-05-14 |
| [Al Ahram] An apparently coordinated blasts struck on Tuesday as Iraq's Shiite majority marked the birth of a venerated figure in their faith, and came as officials tallied votes from the April 30 election amid a protracted surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 3,300 people this year. The government has blamed external factors, such as the civil war raging in neighbouring Syria, for the escalating unrest. But analysts and diplomats say the Shiite-led authorities have failed to do enough to reach out to the disaffected Sunni Arab minority and undercut support for militancy. At least nine boom-mobiles went off through the morning, when traffic gridlocks the streets. Smoke could be seen rising above several areas of the capital, and AFP journalists reported several shopfronts badly damaged and nearby cars reduced to mangled wrecks of metal. At least 80 people were maimed, overall. In Karrada, where three people died, the owner of a garage said the blast was caused by a turban posing as a customer who left his car, asking for the brakes to be fixed. "He said he would leave the car and go looking for spare parts, and then he left," said the 54-year-old who identified himself as Abu Nuri. "Only one of my employees was in the shop when a huge kaboom went off. He fell down, and smoke was everywhere. Many people were crying, and others were running away." Abu Nuri railed against the authorities and security forces, telling AFP: "The state has failed, it has completely failed. "Attacks target only innocent people, and those heroic officials are completely protected in the Green Zone," he said, referring to the heavily-fortified Storied Baghdad district, which is home to parliament and the US and British embassies. Two boom-mobiles also went kaboom!near a traffic police headquarters in the eastern Baladiyat neighbourhood, and blasts also hit Sadr City, Urr, Jamila, and Maamal, all of which are Shiite-majority. Another vehicle rigged with explosives exploded in the mostly-Sunni area of Arab Jubour, killing three, while a roadside kaboom went off near a police patrol in southeast Storied Baghdad, killing one. Elsewhere, two people, including a young boy, were killed in a rocket attack just north of the capital, while two others died in a boom-mobile in the town of Balad and a police officer was killed in the main northern city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... No group immediately grabbed credit for the attacks. But Sunni turban groups have in the past set off coordinated bombings in the capital and often target the country's Shiite majority, whom they regard as apostates. The attacks came as Shiite Mohammedans marked the birthday of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, and a key figure in Shiite Islam. Interior ministry front man Brigadier General Saad Maan, who has criticised the media in the past for exaggerating the level of unrest, played down the city-wide violence, saying in a statement that only one civilian had been confirmed maimed. Iraq is suffering its worst violence since the Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. Security officials had expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... that hard boyz could seek to exploit the vote count and what is expected to be a prolonged period of coalition talks afterwards to launch attacks aimed at further fraying already fragile ties between Iraq's communities. The authorities have trumpeted security operations targeting hard boyz in the north and west, insisting they are making progress against a variety of turban groups, including the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... But anti-government fighters have continued to hold on to Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperityor a really nice place to raise your kids... a city a short drive from Storied Baghdad, as well as other pockets of territory in the west. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Thank you for those useful details, lord garth. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2014-05-14 00:32 |
| #1 fatalities from violence in 2014 are running about double the number in 2013 (Jan-Apr). Also, the '3300' figure was probably for jan-mar; the figure for jan-apr is about 4000 |
| Posted by: lord garth 2014-05-14 00:25 |