Attackers kill 24 in coordinated Baghdad assault
USA TODAY-37 minutes ago
BAGHDAD
(AP) — A string of explosions tore through central Baghdad within
minutes of each other on Thursday, followed by a coordinated ...
|
Blasts, clashes kill at least 25 in central Baghdad
BAGHDAD
(AP) — A string of explosions tore through central Baghdad within
minutes of each other on Thursday, followed by a coordinated assault by
gunmen who raided a government building and battled security forces in
the streets. The attack left at least 24 people dead and dozens wounded.
The fighting lasted about an hour, ending with security forces storming the building, killing the gunmen and evacuating hundreds of people who had hunkered down in their offices, according to police.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda's Iraqi arm. The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs and coordinated blasts in an effort to undermine Iraqis' confidence in the Shiite-led government.
The attack erupted shortly after midday in Baghdad's Allawi area, a largely commercial area is home to the Iraqi National Museum and the city's main bus station.
At least two blasts, including one car bomb and another believed to be from a suicide bomber, went off near a building currently housing the Justice Ministry. A police officer who was among the troops sent to clear the area said that approximately six gunmen wearing police uniforms quickly stormed the building.
"Everybody panicked (after the first blast) and seconds later we heard a second explosion. I looked through the window and I saw some gunmen wearing police uniforms entering the building. We knew that these policemen were fake," said Asmaa Abbas, a Justice Ministry employee who was working in her third-floor office.
A gun battle quickly broke out between the intruders and security forces, as other explosions went off near the bus station and the headquarters for a VIP protection force that provides bodyguards for lawmakers, government ministers and other senior officials.
After about an hour, security forces stormed the building and some of the gunmen detonated explosives they were wearing, the officer on the scene said.
"It was the longest hour in my life," said Abbas, the employee.
Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said there were more than 1,000 people in the four-story building at the time of the attack. He said the minister is abroad and was not inside.
"When the explosions and shooting started, the guards evacuated me out a back door, and I have no idea what happened after that," he said, speaking over the telephone from outside the building.
The attack killed 22 people in addition to the gunmen and wounded 55 others, police said. The dead include seven police officers.
Hospital officials confirmed the casualty numbers. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Justice Ministry employees had moved to this facility after a 2009 attack on the nearby Ministry of Justice, which is now being repaired. That attack was part of a double car bombing which killed at least 147 people and heavily damaged the building.
Thursday's attack took place about a kilometer (two-thirds of a mile) away from the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses several foreign embassies and Iraqi government offices.
Violence in Iraq has subsided from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but deadly attacks remain frequent a decade after the U.S.-led invasion of March 20, 2003.
Iraq's government is being challenged by weekly protests that began in December from Sunnis angry over perceived discrimination. The demonstrations have been largely peaceful, and most Iraqi Sunnis do not voice support for al-Qaeda.
But al-Qaeda hopes to exploit the increasing tensions. It believes Shiites are heretics and that Iraq's government is too closely allied with neighboring Shiite powerhouse Iran.
Earlier this week, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the deaths of 51 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqis in a well-planned assault in western Iraq on March 4, intensifying concerns that the terror group is coordinating with Islamist rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.
end quote from:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/14/iraq-baghdad-bomb-attack/1986949/
This appears to be a further expansion of the war in Syria. Since Iraq allows soldiers and weapons to flow through their country into Syria this appears to be an attack by Sunni Syrian Sympathizers in Iraq. Likely they are Al Qaeda affiliate members because of the suicide nature of the attack.
I find this whole thing kind of strange on multiple levels. First of all, the U.S. and most of Europe advocates majority rule in both Iraq and Syria and all countries. This is a democratic value that most democratic nations share. But now, Al Qaeda (in some ways) is on the same side (to some degree) of the western powers in that the are anti-Assad. However, they are also anti-Shia which the west is not necessarily except in the case of Iran but not because they are Shia but because they in Iran are demanding nuclear weapons. So, as a result all this is getting more confused every day.
But, even though Al Qaeda also wants Assad gone, they also want to set up an Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The western powers including Russia, Britain and the U.S. will not allow this. However, there are danger signs in places like Libya in regard to violently installing Sharia courts there and likely this also will begin in Syria too. So, this is becoming more of a mess regarding Islamists and Sharia law for the west now every day. I think we are in for it in many ways regarding extremists in the Middle East and Africa over the next 10 to 20 years. And also most Christians will likely leave the Middle East also during this time. Secular non-Sharia law is going away in the middle east during this kind of extremists climate which is bad for the western democratic powers and for Christians in general throughout the area. I think you will see more governmental collapses in places like Egypt, Lebanon and potentially Iraq during the next 10 years because of Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremists and suicide soldiers throughout this area. This tendency is logical given current variables and factors but also intuitively. However, as an intuitive just writing about things I consider bad tends to make them better as people think about what I've written and decide to physically create a better outcome. So, this is why I'm writing about this to help create a better outcome than the one that is presently coming.
Bangladesh News 24 hours-40 minutes ago
Attackers kill 24 in coordinated Baghdad assault
By Adam Schreck, Associated Press
11:20a.m. EDT March 14, 2013
The fighting lasted about an hour, ending with security forces storming the building, killing the gunmen and evacuating hundreds of people who had hunkered down in their offices, according to police.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda's Iraqi arm. The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs and coordinated blasts in an effort to undermine Iraqis' confidence in the Shiite-led government.
The attack erupted shortly after midday in Baghdad's Allawi area, a largely commercial area is home to the Iraqi National Museum and the city's main bus station.
At least two blasts, including one car bomb and another believed to be from a suicide bomber, went off near a building currently housing the Justice Ministry. A police officer who was among the troops sent to clear the area said that approximately six gunmen wearing police uniforms quickly stormed the building.
"Everybody panicked (after the first blast) and seconds later we heard a second explosion. I looked through the window and I saw some gunmen wearing police uniforms entering the building. We knew that these policemen were fake," said Asmaa Abbas, a Justice Ministry employee who was working in her third-floor office.
A gun battle quickly broke out between the intruders and security forces, as other explosions went off near the bus station and the headquarters for a VIP protection force that provides bodyguards for lawmakers, government ministers and other senior officials.
After about an hour, security forces stormed the building and some of the gunmen detonated explosives they were wearing, the officer on the scene said.
"It was the longest hour in my life," said Abbas, the employee.
Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said there were more than 1,000 people in the four-story building at the time of the attack. He said the minister is abroad and was not inside.
"When the explosions and shooting started, the guards evacuated me out a back door, and I have no idea what happened after that," he said, speaking over the telephone from outside the building.
The attack killed 22 people in addition to the gunmen and wounded 55 others, police said. The dead include seven police officers.
Hospital officials confirmed the casualty numbers. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Justice Ministry employees had moved to this facility after a 2009 attack on the nearby Ministry of Justice, which is now being repaired. That attack was part of a double car bombing which killed at least 147 people and heavily damaged the building.
Thursday's attack took place about a kilometer (two-thirds of a mile) away from the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses several foreign embassies and Iraqi government offices.
Violence in Iraq has subsided from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but deadly attacks remain frequent a decade after the U.S.-led invasion of March 20, 2003.
Iraq's government is being challenged by weekly protests that began in December from Sunnis angry over perceived discrimination. The demonstrations have been largely peaceful, and most Iraqi Sunnis do not voice support for al-Qaeda.
But al-Qaeda hopes to exploit the increasing tensions. It believes Shiites are heretics and that Iraq's government is too closely allied with neighboring Shiite powerhouse Iran.
Earlier this week, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the deaths of 51 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqis in a well-planned assault in western Iraq on March 4, intensifying concerns that the terror group is coordinating with Islamist rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.
end quote from:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/14/iraq-baghdad-bomb-attack/1986949/
This appears to be a further expansion of the war in Syria. Since Iraq allows soldiers and weapons to flow through their country into Syria this appears to be an attack by Sunni Syrian Sympathizers in Iraq. Likely they are Al Qaeda affiliate members because of the suicide nature of the attack.
I find this whole thing kind of strange on multiple levels. First of all, the U.S. and most of Europe advocates majority rule in both Iraq and Syria and all countries. This is a democratic value that most democratic nations share. But now, Al Qaeda (in some ways) is on the same side (to some degree) of the western powers in that the are anti-Assad. However, they are also anti-Shia which the west is not necessarily except in the case of Iran but not because they are Shia but because they in Iran are demanding nuclear weapons. So, as a result all this is getting more confused every day.
But, even though Al Qaeda also wants Assad gone, they also want to set up an Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The western powers including Russia, Britain and the U.S. will not allow this. However, there are danger signs in places like Libya in regard to violently installing Sharia courts there and likely this also will begin in Syria too. So, this is becoming more of a mess regarding Islamists and Sharia law for the west now every day. I think we are in for it in many ways regarding extremists in the Middle East and Africa over the next 10 to 20 years. And also most Christians will likely leave the Middle East also during this time. Secular non-Sharia law is going away in the middle east during this kind of extremists climate which is bad for the western democratic powers and for Christians in general throughout the area. I think you will see more governmental collapses in places like Egypt, Lebanon and potentially Iraq during the next 10 years because of Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremists and suicide soldiers throughout this area. This tendency is logical given current variables and factors but also intuitively. However, as an intuitive just writing about things I consider bad tends to make them better as people think about what I've written and decide to physically create a better outcome. So, this is why I'm writing about this to help create a better outcome than the one that is presently coming.
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