23 KILLED AS BOMB BLASTED IN IRAQ'S WESTERN ANBAR PROVINCE
BAGHDAD – Twin bombings, one an assassination attempt against an Iraqi provincial governor, killed 23 people and wounded the governor in the worst violence in months to hit the western province that was once al-Qaida's top stronghold in Iraq.While violence in Iraq has dropped considerably since the height of the conflict, a reinvigorated insurgency in Anbar which is also Iraq's largest province could pose a serious risk to the country's stability as it prepares for March elections.
Source: AP
- Two bombs exploded in Anbar's capital of Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, said police Lt. Col. Imad al-Fahdawi. First, a car driven by a suicide bomber blew up near a checkpoint on the main road near the provincial administration buildings.
- "When the first explosion occurred, the governor walked out of his office, heading to the site to see what happened," al-Fahdawi said.
- "A second suicide bomber with an explosives belt and wearing a military uniform tried to make his way through the crowd of people and was stopped by guards of the governor," and then blew himself up just yards from the governor, al-Fahdawi said.
- It was not known whether the first bomb was designed to lure the governor out of his office, but insurgents commonly use staggered explosions as a way to maximize damage as rescuers and security officials rush to the scene.
BAGHDAD SUCIDE CAR BOMBS KILL 136
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Two suicide car bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 136 people and delivering a powerful blow to the heart of the fragile city's government in the worst attack of the year, officials said.
Source: AP
- While violence has dropped dramatically in the country since the height of the sectarian tensions, such bombings like Sunday's demonstrate the precarious nature of the security gains and the insurgency's abilities to still pull off devastating attacks in the center of what is supposed to be one of Baghdad's most secure areas.
- Black smoke could be seen billowing from the frantic scene, as emergency service vehicles sped to the area. Even civilian cars were being commandeered to transport the wounded to hospitals.
- "The walls collapsed and we had to run out," said Yasmeen Afdhal, 24, an employee of the Baghdad provincial administration, which was targeted by one of the car bombs. "There are many wounded, and I saw them being taken away. They were pulling victims out of the rubble, and rushing them to ambulances."
- The car bombs, which targeted the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad provincial administration, come as Iraq is preparing for elections scheduled this January, and many Iraqi officials have warned that violence by insurgents intent destabilizing the country could rise.
- There have been no claims of responsibility so far, but massive car bombs have been the hallmark of the Sunni insurgents seeking to overthrow the country's Shiite-dominated government.
MORE TAN 50 PEOPLE DIE AND WOUNDED 286 IN IRAQ BOMB BLAST
More than 50 people have been killed and at least 286 others wounded in a series of bombings near the northern city of Mosul and in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials have said.
- In the deadliest attack, two lorries packed with explosives blew up simultaneously on Monday in the predominantly Shia village of Khazna, 20km north of Mosul.
- At least 35 people were killed and 200 others wounded in the attack, police and hospital officials said.
- The blast also levelled more than 30 houses in the village. The village is home to members of the Shabak community, a Shia minority group, outside of Mosul, a predominately Sunni city with significant Christian and Shia minorities.
- Khanza, which is under the control of Kurdish peshmerga forces, also lies on the southern edge of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
- Hunain Qaddu, an Iraqi member of parliament representing the Shabak, said the peshmerga have never been able to protect his community.
- The Iraqi government was requested to deploy the Iraqi forces in our area in order to protect all Iraqi minorities whether they are Shabak or Turkmen or Christian.
- Source: Al Jazeera
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