Twin Bombings Kill at Least 26 in Iraq
Pastor Dale Morgan
Twin Bombings Kill at Least 26 in Iraq*
By BUSHRA JUHI
The Associated Press
Friday, November 23, 2007; 7:41 AM
BAGHDAD -- A bomb exploded in a pet market in central Baghdad on Friday,
killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens, Iraqi police said,
shattering the festive atmosphere as people strolled past the animal stalls.
Hours later, a suicide car bomber struck a police checkpoint in the
northern city of Mosul, killing three policemen and 10 civilians, police
Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Wakaa said. The 1:30 p.m. explosion also left 10
cars charred.
The attacks were among the deadliest in recent weeks, underscoring
warnings by senior American commanders that extremists still pose a
threat to Iraq's fragile security despite a downturn in violence since a
U.S.-Iraqi security plan began in mid-February.
The blast at the popular weekly al-Ghazl bazaar occurred just before 9 a.m.
The explosives were hidden in a box that is commonly used to carry small
animals, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity
because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
At least 13 people were killed and nearly 60, including four policemen,
were wounded, according to figures provided by police and hospital
officials. Several shops also were damaged.
The al-Ghazl market, where sellers peddle birds, dogs, cats, sheep,
goats and exotic animals such as snakes and monkeys, has been targeted
in the past. On Jan. 26, 15 people were killed when a bomb hidden in a
box of pigeons exploded as shoppers gathered around it.
Friday's blast was particularly significant because it dealt a blow to
an increased feeling of confidence among Iraqis about the recent calm in
the capital and surrounding areas.
The market has regained popularity after the lifting of a four-hour
Friday driving ban to protect prayer services from car bombings. The
Iraqi government lifted the weekly ban in September, citing the
improving security situation.
A local store owner who would only give his name as Abu Zainab said he
had only reopened his business two weeks ago.
"I was reluctant to open it after lifting the curfew because of security
concerns," he said of his cleaning supply store that is about yards away
from the blast site.
"Today, the view of many young men coming with pets, colorful fish in
aquariums and dogs was very encouraging and cheerful," he said. "There
were also teenagers selling sandwiches and tea in wheeled carts giving
the impression that life is back to normal again, but about 9 o'clock,
we heard the sound of an explosion."
He described a scene of chaos, with birds flying into a sky filled with
smoke and the bodies of young men who had been killed and wounded on the
ground.
"We helped evacuate some of them, then the Iraqi police and army came
and told us to leave because they feared another explosion could take
place," he said.
Amir Aziz, a 22-year-old pigeon vendor who was wounded by shrapnel, said
he was in the middle of a transaction when the blast occurred.
"Today, the market was very crowded and we were happy about that," he
said. "The Iraqi security officials have deceived us by their statements
that the situation is 80 percent better. People believed them and began
to go out thinking that it would be safe. I think that the situation
will become worse again."
In other violence, a parked car bomb targeted a police patrol in
Shurqat, 155 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing one officer and
wounding 15 others, along with one civilian, authorities said.
The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. Mark P.
Hertling, warned earlier this month that northern Iraq has become more
violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to
avoid coalition operations elsewhere.
American officials say attacks have dropped 55 percent nationwide since
June. But American military commanders repeatedly have warned that Iraq
is by no means stable, even though the violence is declining.
A spokesman for the Iraqi military, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, urged
Iraqis to be patient, saying U.S. and Iraqi forces were gaining the
upper hand but need time "to achieve positive results."
He made his comments on Thursday, a day that saw a brazen attack against
U.S.-backed Sunni fighters on the southern belt of Baghdad that provoked
a fierce gunbattle and left 18 people dead, including three Iraqi
soldiers, eight members of the so-called Awakening Council and seven
suspected al-Qaida in Iraq militants.
U.S. authorities have attributed some of their success in reducing
violence to the role of the groups of Sunnis who have worked with the
Americans to drive al-Qaida from their neighborhoods.
Mortars or rockets also slammed into the Green Zone on Thursday in the
biggest attack against the U.S.-protected area in weeks. The U.S.
military said nobody was killed but there were unspecified injuries.
___
Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.