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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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August 16th,
2009 - Bombs Kill at least 8 People in Iraqi Market |
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Bombs Kill at
least 8 People in Iraqi Market By Sameer N. Yacoub Associated Press August 16, 2009 Baghdad - Bombs hidden in
plastic bags near a falafel stand exploded at a market in a mainly Shiite
area in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least eight civilians and wounding 21,
Iraqi officials said. It was the latest in a series of bombings targeting
Shiites and minorities in the capital and northern Iraq. The U.S. military has said
insurgents are trying to re-ignite sectarian bloodshed that pushed the
country to the brink of civil war but Shiites so far have shown restraint. The bags packed with
explosives were left among a pile of garbage and exploded shortly before 8
p.m. as the district was crowded with people enjoying the evening. Several nearby stores were
also damaged, according to police and hospital officials, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the
information. Five children were among the wounded, they said. The spike in violence
follows the June 30 withdrawal of American troops from urban areas,
heightening concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to protect the people.
Political tensions have also risen further as the country prepares for
national elections scheduled for January. Violence has fluctuated
throughout the year, but the intense period of bombings in recent days has
indicated a more sustained effort, with nearly 160 people killed in blasts
since Aug. 7. Raad Nasir, 26, owns a cell
phone store in the area and was on his way to the falafel stand when the
blast occurred. "After I saw the
horrible scene, I rushed home," he said. "We were starting to be
happy that our area was safe and not like before, but now the terrorists have
resumed their cowardly crimes against civilians." Mindful of the fears, the
Iraqi government announced Sunday that it has indefinitely postponed a
nationwide census after warnings that it could stoke ethnic and political
tension. The population count, which
had been scheduled for Oct. 24, would have settled controversies over the
size of the country's religious and ethnic communities. It also had
implications for decisions over the fate of the oil-rich area of Kirkuk as
well as the budget allocation for the self-ruled Kurdish region in the north. "The Planning Ministry
is technically ready for the census, but after hearing some fears and
reservations from political groups in Kirkuk and Ninevah, we decided to stall
and the census has been postponed indefinitely," Planning Minister Ali
Baban told reporters during a visit to the Shiite holy city of Najaf. Many lawmakers had called
for it to be postponed until after January's parliamentary elections, arguing
that war has caused radical change in the sectarian makeup of many areas and
the results could ignite new tension. After decades of repression,
Iraq's majority Shiites rose to power with the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein
after the U.S. invasion. Much of the insurgency that followed was driven by
the once-dominant Sunnis, who felt disenfranchised. Militants from both
communities drove the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007. That bloodshed has ebbed,
but U.S. commanders have warned that Arab-Kurdish tensions over land and oil
in northern Iraq could provoke a new round of violence. Sunni lawmaker Osama
al-Nujaifi, whose brother Atheel is the provincial governor of Ninevah province,
noted that large numbers of Kurds had moved into the Kirkuk area, raising
Arab concerns that they seek to take control. The census results also
would have determined the Kurds' fair share of the national budget. Iraq's government has
allocated about 17 percent of its budget for the Kurds since Saddam's fall,
based on the assumption that the figure reflects their percentage of Iraq's
population. But some Shiite and Sunni
politicians claim Kurds should be cut back to about 14 percent. After much
haggling, the Kurds held onto their 17 percent of the 2009 budget, pending
the census. It would have been the first
nationwide census since 1987. A count conducted 10 years later excluded the
three province that comprise the Kurdish region. The 1997 census put the
country's population at more than 26 million. Associated Press Writer
Mazin Yahya contributed to this report. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD9A45AC00 |