Car Bombs Kill 19 in Iraqi Capital
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/world/middleeast/twin-car-bombs-hit-central-baghdad.html
July 31, 2012
Car Bombs Kill 19 in Iraqi Capital
By REUTERS [-ir] [maliki is in power struggle with fellow Shi’a groups and Iraq’s Sunni minority] [the SOFA that President Bush signed in 2008 provided for U.S. to leave by December 31, 2011] [Obama kept it on track] [the flurry of attacks that began in January, after U.S. withdrew combat troops in December, has continued to ramp up?] [followup] [another coordinated car bomb attack that looks like AQI?] [*]
BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Twin car bombs exploded in central Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 19 people, and security forces fought off an attack inside a police station by two suicide bombers trying to free jailed insurgents.
The assaults underscored the seriousness of Iraq’s struggle with insurgents more than seven months after the last American troops left a country still grappling with political instability and sectarian tensions.
Clouds of dark smoke rose above the center of the capital where the car bombs exploded
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/world/middleeast/twin-car-bombs-hit-central-baghdad.html
July 31, 2012
Car Bombs Kill 19 in Iraqi Capital
By REUTERS [-ir] [maliki is in power struggle with fellow Shi’a groups and Iraq’s Sunni minority] [the SOFA that President Bush signed in 2008 provided for U.S. to leave by December 31, 2011] [Obama kept it on track] [the flurry of attacks that began in January, after U.S. withdrew combat troops in December, has continued to ramp up?] [followup] [another coordinated car bomb attack that looks like AQI?] [*]
BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Twin car bombs exploded in central Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 19 people, and security forces fought off an attack inside a police station by two suicide bombers trying to free jailed insurgents.
The assaults underscored the seriousness of Iraq’s struggle with insurgents more than seven months after the last American troops left a country still grappling with political instability and sectarian tensions.
Clouds of dark smoke rose above the center of the capital where the car bombs exploded minutes apart, leaving the dead and wounded lying in the street or slumped inside a damaged minibus, witnesses and police officers said.
As security forces began to help the victims, at least two suicide bombers dressed as police officers entered a nearby police station. Prisoners belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq insurgent group were being held there, and the bombers tried to free them, security officials said.
It was unclear how many people were killed or wounded in the assault, but both bombers at the police station were killed, one security official said.
The attacks coincide with a surge in violence in Iraq and come as bloodshed in Syria is escalating. The Islamic State of Iraq, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda, has called on its followers to intensify their campaign.
Insurgents have carried out at least one major assault a month since the United States withdrew in December. On July 23, more than 100 people were killed in coordinated attacks across Iraq against mostly Shiite Muslim targets. The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility.