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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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July 12th,
2009 - Car Bomb Explodes Outside Iraqi Church, Kills 4 |
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Car Bomb Explodes Outside
Iraqi Church, Kills 4 By Christopher Torchia Associated Press July 12, 2009 Baghdad - A car bomb
exploded near a church as worshippers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four
civilians and injuring 18 in one of several attacks on Iraq's beleaguered
Christian minority. The coordinated assault came
as the Iraqi military predicted that insurgent attacks, though declining,
could continue for a few years, raising the prospect of militant violence
after the scheduled withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011. Three Christians and one
Muslim died in the bombing at around 7 p.m. near a church on Palestine Street
in eastern Baghdad, said a police officer who was at the scene. He spoke on
condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. An official at al-Kindi
hospital confirmed the death toll and said at least 18 people were injured. Violence is sharply down in
the war that began with the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but militants still
carry out lethal attacks on a regular basis, some seemingly aimed at
fomenting sectarian tension. The U.S. military completed a withdrawal of
combat forces from Iraqi cities to outlying bases last month as part of a
plan to let Iraq take the lead on ensuring its own security. Gen. Babaker B. Shawkat
Zebari, the Iraqi army chief of staff, said insurgents once held sway in
cities and provinces, but had been whittled down to a few highly dangerous
cells that he expected would continue attacks for "a year or two or
three." He said the Iraqi military would get help from American forces
if needed, but would also rely on assistance from its own citizens. "To face terrorism, the
Iraqi army does not need tanks or armored vehicles, but needs intelligence,
fast communication and people's support," he said "The government
has to coordinate with the population to get information about the terrorist
cells." The army chief spoke after
meeting Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in the holy
Shiite city of Najaf, south of Baghdad. Al-Sistani enjoys massive support
among Iraq's majority Shiites, and the Iraqi military sees the backing of
religious leaders as vital to its legitimacy and success. While violence has
diminished since 2007, insurgents exact a steady toll with bombs and targeted
killings that would amount to a crisis in most other countries. In the northern city of
Kirkuk, gunmen with silencers in a car waited outside the house of Aziz Rizqo
Nisan, head of the provincial audit department, and shot him as he drove to
work on Sunday morning. His death was confirmed by local police and the
national government's media office in Baghdad. The motive for the killing
of Nisan, a Christian, was unclear. Insurgents commonly target Iraqi
government officials and security forces. Ethnic and sectarian tension is
high in Kirkuk, a disputed city that Kurds want to annex into their northern
region despite Arab opposition. South of Baghdad, a member
of a Sunni militia that is overseen by the Shiite-led government, was found
dead with gunshot wounds in his chest in Jurf al-Sakhar town, a police
officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak
to the media. The militia, known as the
Awakening Councils, includes many former insurgents who joined forces with
the Americans and promised to fight al-Qaida in Iraq. The movement was
considered a key factor in a drop in violence over the past two years, and
has complained about missed payments and crackdowns on its leaders since the
Iraqi government took control late last year. Iraq's Christians have often
been attacked by Islamic extremists, and many have fled the country. Two bombs that were planted
in a church in western Baghdad exploded at midnight Saturday, causing some
damage but no injuries. Then three bombs exploded near other Baghdad churches
at around 4:30 p.m., injuring eight civilians, police said. The fatal bombing
followed two and a half hours later. "The terrorists are
determined to hamper the political process in Iraq and not let Iraqis live in
peace even after the withdrawal of foreign forces from the cities," said
Younadem Kana, a Christian lawmaker. "We demand that the Iraqi
government take all necessary measures to protect Christians in Baghdad, and
in all of Iraq." Also Sunday evening, a
roadside bomb blew up near a police patrol in Baghdad, killing one civilian
and injuring four others, police and hospital officials said. Half a dozen lawmakers
demanded that a general census planned later this year be postponed until
after parliamentary elections in January. They argued that the upheaval of
war had caused radical change in the ethnic and sectarian makeup of many
areas and the results could ignite fresh tension. Lawmaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a
Sunni Arab from the northern city of Mosul, noted that large numbers of Kurds
had moved into the oil-rich Kirkuk area amid Arab concerns that they seek to
take control. In Baghdad, sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Arabs
altered the face of neighborhoods as people fled their homes or quit the city
altogether. "The form for the
census has an item about the ethnicity of the person, and that would lead to
shocking results," al-Nujaifi said at a news conference. Associated Press writer
Bushra Juhi contributed to this report. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD99D2O801 |