- APOct. 12: Iraqi security forces stand guard in front of a police station at Hurriyah neighborhood in Baghdad.
BAGHDAD – A
slew of bombings targeted Iraqi police in Baghdad on Wednesday morning,
including blasts by two suicide bombers who tried to ram their vehicles
through police station gates. Iraqi officials said 25 people died and
dozens more were wounded in the carnage.
The blasts were aimed at the police,
generally considered to be the weakest section of the country's security
forces, and emphasized that despite Iraq's security gains, long-term
stability in the country is still elusive.
U.S. forces are scheduled to leave Iraq by
the end of this year, and Wednesday's multi-pronged attack is likely to
add to concerns about whether the Iraqi security forces are able to
effectively secure the city.
In the southern Karradah neighborhood, 13
people died and 25 were wounded by a suicide car bomb attack on a police
station, said Baghdad police officials. Smoke could be seen rising from
the blast site as ambulances rushed to the scene, their sirens wailing.
Iraqi army helicopters circled over head.
In the mainly Shiite neighborhood of
Hurriyah, a suicide car bomber targeted a police station and killed nine
people, said two Baghdad police officials. Twenty-seven people were
also wounded in that blast.
Officials said the suicide bombers both exploded their vehicles at the outer entrance leading into the police stations.
"The scene was horrific," said Salim
Ghadban, who was having breakfast near the Karradah police station when
he heard a loud explosion.
"We saw terrified people, some injured,
running in our direction, and we rushed to the attacked police station
to see burned bodies and charred cars. We helped cover the burnt bodies
until the ambulances arrived."
The attack in Hurriyah was especially
remarkable because the neighborhood is a stronghold of Shiite cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr. It is almost entirely surrounded by blast walls, and
access is tightly restricted through just a four entrances manned by the
Iraqi army.
A roadside bomb exploded near a police
patrol in western Baghdad, killing two policemen and wounding another
five, said police officials.
A parked car bomb exploded in western
Baghdad targeting a police patrol but killed one civilian and injured
five people. Three people were also injured by a roadside bomb hitting a
police patrol in western Baghdad.
A hospital official confirmed the
causalities. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to speak to the media.
There was no immediate claim of
responsibility but such attacks are usually the work of Sunni militant
groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq. They often target security forces in
their attempt to destabilize the country and sow havoc.
The military spokesman for Baghdad, Qassim
al-Moussawi blamed al-Qaida for the attacks and said they were an
attempt to show people that the militants are still active.
"Every three months or so, al-Qaida
mobilizes all its resources to launch such attacks in one day to say
that al-Qaida is still able to attack and threaten security posts," he
said.
Wednesday's attacks came two days after a string of explosions targeting security officials killed 10 people in Baghdad.
The police are an especially vulnerable
target among Iraq's security forces because they usually do not have the
heavy weapons or equipment that the Iraqi army has. The military has
received the bulk of the U.S. training assistance since the war began.
Under a 2008 security pact, all U.S. forces
are to leave the country by the end of this year, although a massive
American diplomatic force will remain.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have been
discussing whether to have a longterm but small U.S. military presence
in the country after December in order to train Iraqi security forces.
But they have been unable to agree on whether to give the troops the
legal protections that the American government requires, and time is
rapidly running out for any agreement to take place.
"We urge the security forces to be on high
alert ahead of the U.S. withdrawal. Security stability in Iraq seems to
be far away because we are still facing challenges," said al-Moussawi.
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