Thursday, April 12, 2007
Parliament bombing update
Security, Politics
(AP) - A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Iraqi parliament cafeteria Thursday, killing at least eight people — including three lawmakers — and wounding dozens in a stunning assault in the heart of the heavily fortified, U.S.-protected Green Zone. A news video camera captured the moment of the blast — a flash and an orange ball of fire causing a startled Muslim imam who was being interviewed to duck, and then the smoky, dust-filled aftermath of confusion and shouting. The video was shot by Alhurra, a U.S. government-funded Arab-language channel.
The blast came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.
The parliament bombing was believed to be the deadliest attack in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses
Iraq's leadership as well as the U.S. Embassy, and is secured by American and Iraqi checkpoints. Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
The officials also said two satchel bombs were found near the cafeteria. A U.S. bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident.
President Bush strongly condemned the attack, saying: "My message to the Iraqi government is `We stand with you.'Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that eight people were killed in the attack, which witness accounts indicated was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them — two Sunnis and a Shiite — were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded. "We don't know at this point who it was. We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida," Caldwell said. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh suggested that those behind the attack might work in the building. "There are some groups that work in politics during the day and do things other than politics at night," he told Alhurra.
The Alhurra video showed what appeared to be the moments just after the attack: A smoky hallway, with people screaming for help. One man was slumped over, covered in dust, motionless. A woman kneeled over what appeared to be a wounded or dead man near a table. Then the camera focused on a bloody severed leg. TV cameras and videotapes belonging to a crew sending footage to Western networks were confiscated and apparently handed over to U.S. authorities. After the blast, security guards sealed the building and no one — including lawmakers — was allowed to enter or leave.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said no Americans were hurt. The bombing came amid the two-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad, which has sought to restore stability in the capital so that the government of Iraq can take key political steps by June 30 or face a withdrawal of American support. "We know that there is a security problem in Baghdad," added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the State Department. "This is still early in the process and I don't think anyone expected that there wouldn't be counter-efforts by terrorists to undermine the security presence."
One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast. Abu Bakr and other lawmakers said they saw the suspected bomber's body amid the ghastly scene. "I saw two legs in the middle of the cafeteria and none of those killed or wounded lost their legs — which means they must be the legs of the suicide attacker," he said.
Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations. Masses of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on the streets in the ninth week of a security crackdown in the capital and security measures inside the Green Zone have been significantly hardened.
The U.S. military reported April 1 that two suicide vests were found in the Green Zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government. A rocket attack last month killed two Americans, a soldier and a contractor. A few days earlier, a rocket landed within 100 yards of a building where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was holding a news conference. No one was hurt.
Khalaf al-Ilyan, one of the three leaders of the Iraqi Accordance Front, which holds 44 seats, said the attack was "aimed at everyone — all parties — our parliament in general being a symbol and a representative of all segments of Iraqi society." Al-Ilyan, who is in Jordan recovering from knee surgery, said the blast also "underlines the failure of the government's security plan. The plan is 100 percent a failure. It's a complete flop. The explosion means that instability and lack of security has reached the Green Zone, which the government boasts is heavily fortified," he said.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the parliament's security and defense committee, said the blast shook the building just after legislators ended their main meeting, and broke into smaller committees. He said Iraqi forces are in charge of security in the building, and that explosives could have been smuggled in amid restaurant supplies.
Attacks in the Green Zone are rare. The worst previous known assault occurred Oct. 14, 2004, when a blast at a market and a popular cafe killed six people — the first bombing in the sprawling region. On Nov. 25, 2004, a mortar attack inside the zone killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded at least 12. On Jan. 29, 2005, insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy compound with a rocket, killing two Americans — a civilian and a sailor — on the eve of landmark elections. Four other Americans were wounded.
The blast came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.
The parliament bombing was believed to be the deadliest attack in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses
Iraq's leadership as well as the U.S. Embassy, and is secured by American and Iraqi checkpoints. Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
The officials also said two satchel bombs were found near the cafeteria. A U.S. bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident.
President Bush strongly condemned the attack, saying: "My message to the Iraqi government is `We stand with you.'Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that eight people were killed in the attack, which witness accounts indicated was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them — two Sunnis and a Shiite — were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded. "We don't know at this point who it was. We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida," Caldwell said. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh suggested that those behind the attack might work in the building. "There are some groups that work in politics during the day and do things other than politics at night," he told Alhurra.
The Alhurra video showed what appeared to be the moments just after the attack: A smoky hallway, with people screaming for help. One man was slumped over, covered in dust, motionless. A woman kneeled over what appeared to be a wounded or dead man near a table. Then the camera focused on a bloody severed leg. TV cameras and videotapes belonging to a crew sending footage to Western networks were confiscated and apparently handed over to U.S. authorities. After the blast, security guards sealed the building and no one — including lawmakers — was allowed to enter or leave.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said no Americans were hurt. The bombing came amid the two-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad, which has sought to restore stability in the capital so that the government of Iraq can take key political steps by June 30 or face a withdrawal of American support. "We know that there is a security problem in Baghdad," added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the State Department. "This is still early in the process and I don't think anyone expected that there wouldn't be counter-efforts by terrorists to undermine the security presence."
One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said. Another was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department. A third dead legislator was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member. Asif Hussein Muhammad, an MP from the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, was also killed in the blast. Abu Bakr and other lawmakers said they saw the suspected bomber's body amid the ghastly scene. "I saw two legs in the middle of the cafeteria and none of those killed or wounded lost their legs — which means they must be the legs of the suicide attacker," he said.
Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution — apparently concerned that an attack might take place. A security scanner for pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said.
The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations. Masses of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on the streets in the ninth week of a security crackdown in the capital and security measures inside the Green Zone have been significantly hardened.
The U.S. military reported April 1 that two suicide vests were found in the Green Zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government. A rocket attack last month killed two Americans, a soldier and a contractor. A few days earlier, a rocket landed within 100 yards of a building where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was holding a news conference. No one was hurt.
Khalaf al-Ilyan, one of the three leaders of the Iraqi Accordance Front, which holds 44 seats, said the attack was "aimed at everyone — all parties — our parliament in general being a symbol and a representative of all segments of Iraqi society." Al-Ilyan, who is in Jordan recovering from knee surgery, said the blast also "underlines the failure of the government's security plan. The plan is 100 percent a failure. It's a complete flop. The explosion means that instability and lack of security has reached the Green Zone, which the government boasts is heavily fortified," he said.
Hadi al-Amiri, head of the parliament's security and defense committee, said the blast shook the building just after legislators ended their main meeting, and broke into smaller committees. He said Iraqi forces are in charge of security in the building, and that explosives could have been smuggled in amid restaurant supplies.
Attacks in the Green Zone are rare. The worst previous known assault occurred Oct. 14, 2004, when a blast at a market and a popular cafe killed six people — the first bombing in the sprawling region. On Nov. 25, 2004, a mortar attack inside the zone killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded at least 12. On Jan. 29, 2005, insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy compound with a rocket, killing two Americans — a civilian and a sailor — on the eve of landmark elections. Four other Americans were wounded.
Labels: Ali Al Dabbagh, Iraq's parliament, Khalaf al-Ilyan, Mohammed Awad, National Dialogue Front, Niamah al-Mayahi, satchel bombs, suicide bomber, Taha al-Liheibi, United Iraqi Alliance
