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Waves of violence roll over the nation of Iraq
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
July 24th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
July 24th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Iraq has weathered a series of deadly attacks over the past month.
Shootings and bombings have followed a warning by the head of the
al-Qaeda group in Iraq that the terrorist organization would be stepping
up operations in areas vacated by U.S. troops last year.
Insurgents carried out the coordinated attack in at least 15 cities this week alone. July 23 marked Iraq's bloodiest day since May 10, 2010 when more than 100 people were killed.
Jihadist Web sites posted a message over the weekend, reportedly from the leader of al-Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, saying the group is starting a "new phase." An audio message from a speaker identified as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi says his group is planning to attack court officials, and to free prisoners.
The group claimed responsibility for a wave of car bombings last month that killed 72 people and wounded nearly 260 others.
Authorities said the attacks in 12 Iraqi locales targeted government and military installations. Gunmen killed at least 15 Iraqi soldiers at a military base in the northeastern town of Udaim, as well as a series of explosions in the northern city of Kirkuk.
The deadliest attacks targeted Taji, just north of the capital, where bombs planted in five houses killed at least 40 people and wounded scores more.
The tally of fatalities is a grim one. Bombing and shootings in Baghdad and around the city kill at least 103 people on July 23. Bombing across Iraq kill 40 people on July 3, bombings across Iraq targeting Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims killed at least 72 people and a car bomb in Baghdad killed 23 last month.
A mix of car and roadside bombs killed 35 across Iraq in April; at least 12 near-simultaneous explosions erupted across Iraq in March, killing 46, wounding more than 200 people. Attacks in Baghdad and 11 other cities killed 55 people in February and a car bomb near a funeral procession in Baghdad killed 31 people in January.
The attacks appear well-coordinated. Coming during the holy time of Ramadan, they again call into question the ability of the fractured Iraqi government to halt terror.
"It was a thunderous explosion," an interior ministry office employee that issues government ID cards said. Sixteen died in that attack.
"The only thing I remember was the smoke and fire, which was everywhere," the employee spoke from a hospital where he was recovering from shrapnel wounds.
© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.