Baghdad Bombings Condemned as 'Senseless' by US as 95 Killed
Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Coordinated bombings that torethrough Baghdad yesterday killing almost 100 people were a“senseless” act of violence, the Obama administration said,leading condemnation of the bloodiest attack in Iraq this year.
The mid-morning blasts, six years to the day after theUnited Nations headquarters in Baghdad was attacked, rippedthrough civilian and diplomatic areas near government buildingsincluding the Foreign Ministry.
The blasts show “the degree to which extremists willalways go to wreak havoc through senseless violence,” WhiteHouse spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was saddened by the “appallingstring of attacks,” while the Security Council demanded thoseresponsible be brought to justice.
The attacks underscore the fragility of Iraq’s securitysince U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas on June 30and as the country prepares for elections in January. Thewithdrawal from cities is part of a U.S.-Iraqi agreement signedin January that outlines the complete pullout of American forcesby the end of 2011.
Vice President Joe Biden spoke by telephone with IraqiPrime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to condemn the attacks and express“U.S. solidarity with Iraq as it contends with violentextremists,” the White House said late yesterday.
It’s too early to know whether the Baghdad assaults willprompt a change in U.S. tactics, and Iraqi officials haven’trequested assistance under the security pact, said U.S. MarineCorps Colonel David Lapan, a spokesman for the Pentagon.
Death Toll
The UN said almost 100 people were killed in the bombings,while news agencies, including Agence France-Presse, put thetoll at 95 dead and almost 600 injured.
The single previous worst incident this year in Iraqoccurred on June 24, when 69 people were killed after a bombexploded in a market in Baghdad’s Shiite Muslim Sadr City area.
Al-Maliki yesterday ordered a security review, AFP reportedfrom Baghdad. His office described the bombings as “heinouscrimes” designed to “derail the political process and affectthe parliamentary elections,” according to the report.
Al-Qaeda and people loyal to the late former leader SaddamHussein were responsible for the blasts, President JalalTalabani said in an e-mailed statement. He urged Iraqi securityforces to be “more alert.”
Al-Qaeda Members
Two senior al-Qaeda members were arrested in Baghdad’swestern district of Mansour in connection with the attacks,military spokesman Major General Qassim Atta said in astatement. A truck laden with explosives was seized in theSalhiyeh area, he added.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for theattacks.
President Barack Obama has said all U.S. combat troops willdepart from Iraq by the end of August 2010, leaving as many as50,000 U.S. soldiers in training and advisory roles until thepullout is complete.
Six years ago, the UN envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira deMello, and 21 other people were killed in a truck bombingoutside the UN headquarters in Baghdad. It was one of the firstmajor assaults in the country after the toppling of Hussein, andmarked a shift toward mass-casualty attacks.
Among the most deadly attacks in Iraq since then have beena bombing that ripped through a pet market in Baghdad inFebruary 2008, killing 98 people, and a suicide truck bombing inthe northern city of Tal Afar that left more than 150 dead inMarch 2007.
While violence has decreased across Iraq in recent months,attacks have persisted on security forces and Shiite Muslims andon targets in the ethnically divided majority-Kurdish northerncities of Mosul and Kirkuk.
U.S. and Iraqi commanders have said they expect violence toincrease as the January elections approach.
To contact the reporters on this story:Caroline Alexander in London at calexander1@bloomberg.net;Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: August 19, 2009 20:35 EDTSource: Bloomberg
« Back to World News
Related News
-
Coordinated blasts hit Baghdad; kill at least 121 Aug 19, 2009 @ 01:00 AM
BAGHDAD -- A series of coordinated attacks struck Baghdad Tuesday, including two suicide car bombers and another vehicle that blew up near government sites. At least 121 were killed and hundreds wounded in the worst wave of violence in the capital in more than a month, authorities said.
-
DEADLIEST ATTACKS IN TWO YEARS 'A clear message' to Maliki before elections Aug 19, 2009 @ 01:00 AM
BAGHDAD -- Twin car bombs that devastated three government buildings Sunday and killed more than 150 people illustrate a new strategy in Iraq's contest for power ahead of January elections: spectacular blows aimed at destroying faith in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ability to secure the country as the United States withdraws, officials and residents said.
-
Iraq Suffers Worst Attack in 2009 With Twin Bombings Aug 19, 2009 @ 01:00 AM
Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Twin suicide car bombs targetinggovernment buildings in central Baghdad killed more than 130people and wounded hundreds more in the worst attack in thecountry this year, Al-Jazeera television said, citing police.
-
Iraq seeks UN help in recent bombings Aug 19, 2009 @ 01:00 AM
UNITED NATIONS — Iraq's prime minister has asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate recent bombings outside two government ministry buildings in Baghdad and prosecute the alleged perpetrators, the country's U.N. envoy said Thursday.
-
Iraq and Syria recall envoys in bomb suspects row Aug 19, 2009 @ 01:00 AM
BAGHDAD, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Iraq and Syria recalled their ambassadors on Tuesday after Baghdad demanded Damascus hand over two people it says masterminded bombings in the Iraqi capital last week which killed almost 100 people.
