Monday, February 19, 2007
Scores killed by bombs as security operation continues
Security
(Al Jazeera) At least 13 people have died in a series of bombings in Baghdad, a day after more than 60 people were killed when two car bombs were detonated near a market. The bombings were the latest blow to a joint security operation by US and Iraqi forces aimed at improving security in the capital.
Five commuters were killed when a bomb which was hidden on a minibus exploded in the Karradah district, police said. In a second attack, a roadside bomb exploded by a police patrol, killing two people and wounding 40 bystanders, in the nearby district of Zafaraniyah, a security official said. North of Baghdad, a suicide car bomber attacked a house in the Khazraj district belonging to an Iraqi army major, killing five soldiers and wounding 10, police said. In a separate incident, one person was killed and another seven injured in a car bomb explosion in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, police said.
Five commuters were killed when a bomb which was hidden on a minibus exploded in the Karradah district, police said. In a second attack, a roadside bomb exploded by a police patrol, killing two people and wounding 40 bystanders, in the nearby district of Zafaraniyah, a security official said. North of Baghdad, a suicide car bomber attacked a house in the Khazraj district belonging to an Iraqi army major, killing five soldiers and wounding 10, police said. In a separate incident, one person was killed and another seven injured in a car bomb explosion in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, police said.
Tens of thousands of US and Iraqi troops have been deployed in Baghdad as part of "Operation Fardh al-Qanoon" - Operation Imposing Law - which officially started last week."As displaced families return home peacefully, and hopes are raised by 'Operation Fardh al-Qanoon', criminal terrorists are not happy to see life returing to normal in Baghdad," Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, said, blaming Sunni fighters and supporters of Saddam Hussein for the attacks. Soldiers deploying to new security posts had met little organised resistance, although two US troops have been killed, and the number of corpses of murder victims found every day had dropped dramatically. US forces reportedly came under attack north of Baghdad after a suicide bomber apparently tried to break through barriers around a joint base with Iraqi forces.
Outside the capital, two suicide car bombers blew themselves up in Ramadi, killing at least 11 people and wounding four, police and witnesses said. The first explosion hit the blast walls outside the house of Abdul Setar Abu Risha, a tribal leader who has led a government-backed campaign to fight al-Qaeda-linked fighters in al-Anbar province. The second suicide bomber crashed his vehicle into the house before blowing himself up. Five police officers and six civilians were killed in the blasts, witnesses said.
Outside the capital, two suicide car bombers blew themselves up in Ramadi, killing at least 11 people and wounding four, police and witnesses said. The first explosion hit the blast walls outside the house of Abdul Setar Abu Risha, a tribal leader who has led a government-backed campaign to fight al-Qaeda-linked fighters in al-Anbar province. The second suicide bomber crashed his vehicle into the house before blowing himself up. Five police officers and six civilians were killed in the blasts, witnesses said.
Labels: bombings, operation Imposing Law
