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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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October 11th,
2009 - Triple Attacks Kill 19 in Western Iraqi City |
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Triple Attacks
Kill 19 in Western Iraqi City By Bassim al-Anbari Agence France Presse October 11, 2009 Ramadi, Iraq - Twin car
bombs and an apparently coordinated suicide attack killed 19 people in Iraq's
western city of Ramadi on Sunday, in an explosion of violence blamed on
police collusion. Officials said more than 80
people were injured in the blasts, which shattered a relative lull in Iraqi
violence. The two car bombs exploded
in quick succession in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, near the
offices of the provincial governor while a meeting was in progress, a police
official said. "The attacks killed 19
people, including nine police," an interior ministry official told AFP.
"Eighty-one other people are wounded and 30 cars are completely
burned." The official said 80 percent
of the wounded were police, and 10 percent of the injured were in critical
condition. An AFP journalist in the
building said the first bomb went off at around 12.30 pm (0930 GMT) about 20
metres (yards) from the building in a civilian parking lot, speeding the
arrival of firemen and police. A second car bomb then
exploded, the journalist said, leading police to seal off the area, which was
littered with body parts. Shortly afterwards at Ramadi
General Hospital, where victims had been rushed for treatment, a suicide
bomber killed at least two people and wounded four others. Anbar Deputy Governor Hekmat
Jassim Zaidan blamed police inaction and collaboration for the attacks. "Anbar police did not
perform their duties well," he told AFP. "They were unable to
provide security to innocent civilians. Someone inside the security forces is
behind these security violations." The meeting in the
government offices was between provincial officials, including directors for
services such as health care and water, and tribal leaders. Provincial governor Qasim
Mohammed Abid said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television the attack had
not been directed against the government buildings but targeted a nearby
parking lot for civilian cars. "The attack took place
500 metres (yards) from my office. It was a crime against civilians. It was
at a ... normal garage for cars of the people," Abid said. Iraqi police and soldiers
dramatically increased their presence on Ramadi's streets in the aftermath of
the attacks, and security forces also imposed a curfew, blocking any cars
from entering or exiting the city. Anbar police, meanwhile,
announced a reward of 10 million Iraqi dinars (8,700 dollars) for any
information related to those behind the blasts. The US military did not
immediately give details on whether it was providing support to Iraqi
security forces in the area. The attacks are the latest
sign that unrest in Iraq's biggest province of Anbar is on the rise. Anbar became the theatre of
a brutal war focused on the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in the aftermath of
the 2003 US-led invasion, while several towns along the Euphrates river
valley became insurgent strongholds and later safe havens for fighters. But since 2006, local Sunni
tribes there have sided with the US military. Daily violence has dropped
dramatically in Anbar as Al-Qaeda fighters have been ejected from the region. This month, however, there
have been several attacks in Anbar. Last week, a car bomb
outside a Sunni mosque southwest of Fallujah around the time of evening
prayers killed seven people and wounded 29. A day earlier, a suicide
bombing at a funeral in Haditha, one of several towns along the Euphrates
valley that also became Al-Qaeda strongholds after the invasion, killed five
people. And on September 28, a
suicide attacker killed seven policemen and wounded 10 others when he blew up
a water tanker packed with explosives at a quick response unit's headquarters
on the highway from Ramadi towards Jordan and Syria. Violent deaths in Iraq
dropped by more than half in September compared with the previous month,
official figures showed last week, with 203 people killed across the country. September's death toll was
the lowest since May, when a total of 155 people were killed. Copyright © 2009 AFP. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gyXgQtA9TuDo2W0buv6CqEYbDn2w |