Iraq terror targets Shi'ite pilgrims —again
At least five people were killed and some 36 others injured July 16 as an explosion ripped through Baghdad's Shi'ite district of Sadr City. The improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated at the entrance of a funeral tent that had been set up on the street. The attack came hours after authorities began imposing a strict curfew on Baghdad and set up check posts across the city in preparation for the Sunday martyrdom anniversary of the seventh Shi'ite Imam, Musa al-Kadhim. Another eight people sustained injuries in a bomb blast targeting visitors at Imam Musa's mausoleum at Kadhimiya in northern Baghdad. (Press TV, Iran, July 16)
Shi'ite pilgrims were also targeted earlier this year during Arbaeen celebrations.
See our last posts on Iraq and the sectarian war.
Insurgency or sectarian war?
Which does it look like to you? From the LA Times, July 22:
Insurgency or sectarian war?
Apparently Iranian pilgrims were among those killed on Wednesday. From the NY Times, July 22:
Insurgency or sectarian war?
Which does it look like to you? From Radio Australia, July 31:
Gee, thanks for the good news.
Insurgency or sectarian war?
Which does it look like to you? From the Seattle Times, July 30:
Insurgency or sectarian war?
You tell us. From AlJazeera, Aug. 7:
Insurgency or sectarian war?
Two explosions obliterated a large swath of Khazna village near Mosul Aug. 10, killing 34 people and wounding almost 200. The village is inhabited by Shi'ite Shabaks, a Kurdish-speaking minority. On Aug. 13, a suicide bombing in Sinjar killed 21 Yazidis. On Aug. 7, a truck bomb in Shirakhan, just north of Mosul, killed 37 Shi'ite Turkmen. (NYT, Aug. 16)
See our last post on Iraq' minorities.
Insurgency or sectarian war?
From the Washington Post, Aug. 20:
OK, this time they hit a government target. Media reports, however, do not say how many of the dead were actually government workers. The Dallas Morning News points out the blasts took place on the sixth anniversary of the bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, "an attack regarded by many as the start of the insurgency that gripped Iraq until the U.S. added troops two years ago." And appears to be dramatically back on, if we are to concede the use of the too-flattering word "insurgency." A day later they are back to their usual trick of blowing up random civilians at markets. From AlJazeera, Aug. 21:
So, we're waiting. Insurgency or sectarian war? Which does it look like to you?
Iraqi suicide bomber was Camp Bucca graduate
The Telegraph revealed Aug. 31 that the suicide bombers who killed nearly 100 in the Aug. 19 Baghdad attacks had been "recently freed" from US detention at the notorious Camp Bucca. Some annoying wingnuts see this as evidence of some kind of Manchurian Candidate-type conspiracy. Assuredly, their counterparts on the right will argue that this is evidence of the need for indefinite detention. Kind of like a Rorschach test, eh? Both overlook the obvious. As we have asked before: Is it surprising that someone who did time at Camp Bucca should perhaps be a wee bit teed off at the USA (and its Iraqi client government)?
Insurgency or sectarian war?
Which does it look like to you? From the New York Times, Oct. 14:
See our last post on the body count.
Insurgency or sectarian war?
Which does it look like to you? From the New York Times, Oct. 16:
See our last post on the Turkmen.
Insurgency or sectarian war?
For the second time since Aug. 19, the "insurgents" target government buildings in Baghdad (even if the casualties are overwhelmingly civilian). In the same period, we noted (just from mainstream press accounts) at least seven attack on sectarian enemies, albeit with a less spectacular death toll than in this latest incident. From Bloomberg, Oct. 26:
Iraqi "resistance" scores another heroic blow against...
...Iraqi children. From AP, Oct. 26:
A busload of children leaving a day care center next to the Justice Ministry was caught in the first blast and 24 children and the bus driver were killed, hospital and police officials said. Six children were wounded, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Insurgency or sectarian war?
The New York Times reports several bombings across Iraq Nov. 1, leaving 12 dead—including five (with 37 wounded) at a popular kebab restaurant in the southern Shi'ite city of Hilla, and three (with 12 wounded) when a magnetic bomb attached to a minibus filled with passengers exploded at a checkpoint in Karbala. The following statistics were provided, which shed light on just how far standards for "success" have been dumbed down:
Insurgency or sectarian war?
A barrage of bombings killed nine people in two of Iraq's largest cities Dec. 15. In Baghdad, three parked cars packed with mines and other bombs exploded within minutes of each other around 7:30 AM just outside different entrances to the Green Zone, just as Iraqis were coming to the area for work. Five people were killed and at least 16 wounded. Four hours later and 225 miles away, in the northwestern Iraqi city of Mosul, two more car bombs and a roadside mine killed four people and wounded 40. The attacks appeared to target a busy neighborhood and a church. (AP, Dec. 15)
OK, the Baghdad blasts at least targeted the seat of government (even if they killed civilian workers). But the Mosul blasts seem just more random terror aimed at civilians and (if the claims about a church are accurate) especially Christians.
The "Islamic State in Iraq" has meanwhile claimed responsibility for the Dec. 8 coordinated attacks that killed up to 127 and wounded more than 448 in Baghdad. The statement said the attacks targeted "bastions of evil and dens of apostates," confirming that the group is determined to uproot the Iraqi government and that the "list of its targets has no end." The group also claimed responsibility for the massive attacks of Aug. 19 and Oct. 25. (Xinhua, Dec. 10)