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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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October 25th,
2009 - Explosions Kill at least 147 in Baghdad’s Government Center News article from the Los
Angeles Times |
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Explosions
Kill at least 147 in Baghdad’s Government Center Car bombs rock Iraq’s capital, injuring 700, as politicians prepare
for a crucial meeting on national elections. By Ned Parker & Raheem Salman Los Angeles Times October 25, 2009 Reporting from Baghdad
- Car bombs exploded in Baghdad this
morning next to two key government buildings, killing at least 147 people and
wounding more than 700. The explosions occurred as political leaders were
preparing to meet to try to resolve a fierce dispute that could delay
national elections, ranked as pivotal to Iraq's long-term stability. The car bombs, at least one
of them a suicide bombing, according to police, blew up by the justice
ministry and a Baghdad provincial office, sites separated by one broad city
block. The attacks, the bloodiest in Iraq this year, hit the nerve center of
Baghdad's national and local governments, shattering windows, sending debris
flying and tearing down parts of buildings. Salam Ali, 30, had been
riding his motorcycle to work when the blast knocked him off his bike.
"I saw people wounded and killed at the explosion scene," said Ali,
speaking from the crowded Karkh hospital in western Baghdad. "Security
forces started to shoot randomly. There was flames and smoke from the
explosion." The areas on the eastern
side of the Tigris River are flanked with police and army checkpoints and are
very near to Baghdad's foreign ministry, which was targeted in one of two
attacks in August that killed around 100 people. That blast, referred to as
"bloody Wednesday," rattled Iraqis' growing sense of security, and
until today the city had not seen any more violence on that scale. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki,
who has tied his political fortunes to the improved security Baghdad has
experienced in the last two years, visited the blast sites. The attacks happened as
politicians milled around inside the Green Zone, home to the main Iraqi
government offices and foreign embassies, just hours before political blocs
were set to strike a compromise over an election law delayed in the
parliament that would regulate national elections planned for January. The law has been blocked by
disputes over the status of the disputed northern province of Kirkuk, home to
oil reserves, and whether candidate lists for the election should be open or
closed. Influential political leaders,
including Maliki, and Shiite clergy have warned that delaying the vote could
stir chaos. International officials have stressed the importance of smooth
elections that are perceived as legitimate, helping the country's democratic
process to continue to go forward. Copyright © 2009, The Los
Angeles Times. External link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-car-bombs26-2009oct26,0,2913609.story Baghdad
bombings: Iraqis at the scene blame political parties Sunday’s suicide bombings, which killed more than 130 people and
wounding almost 600, targeted government ministries in what authorities say
is a bid to disrupt upcoming parliamentary elections. By Jane Arraf Christian Science Monitor October 25, 2009 Baghdad, Iraq - Iraqis at
the site of the latest suicide car bombings on Sunday said they believed that
political parties were responsible for the twin attacks on government
ministries. The mangled remnants of cars
were flung blocks away by the force of two car bombs that hit almost
simultaneously mid-morning on a workday outside the Baghdad governorate
offices and the Justice Ministry, killing more than 130 people and wounding
almost 600. The explosion blew out the windows of a major hotel used by
foreigners and foreign embassies. Several hours after the
attack, the streets were still flooded with pools of water and blood while
emergency workers used cranes to search the destroyed ministries for remains
of the victims. "This is all from the
political parties - they want to gain seats in the election," said Abbas
Fadhil, a street vendor who arrived on the scene moments after the explosion.
"Look - there are lots of empty seats now," he said, pointing to
the collapsed ceilings and overturned chairs of the Justice Ministry where he
stood. Near the office of the
Baghdad provincial governorate, Salar Saman Mohammad waded into the flooded
street to try to determine whether a blackened wreck of a car with shattered
windows belonged to his brother, lying wounded in hospital. A 14-year-old
worker in the car with his brother at the time was also seriously wounded in
the blast. "Everybody knows it's
the political parties behind this trying to gain power," he said. Mr.
Mohammad, a plumber, said the brand new car had been stripped of its head
lights and license plates after the explosion. "They are animals here -
they don't know if the owner is dead and they are stealing," he said. "There had to be
someone with official backing behind this - how could they get through the
checkpoints?" said Um Ali, standing at the edge of an impassible street.
"Why are our children, our sisters still being killed? For 20 years
we've been fighting," she said. Her neighbor Intisar, standing
next to her, was left with five children when her husband was shot dead in
Latifiyah north of Baghdad for working with US contractors. Scouring the wreckage for clues Scores of Iraqi police,
soldiers, and rescue workers were at the scene along with a group of American
explosive experts who scoured the wreckage for evidence from the suicide
vehicle. Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar, in
charge of Baghdad security, strode through the wreckage surrounded by Iraqi
soldiers but waved aside reporters' questions about the attack - the second
wave of suicide bombings against government ministries since August. Ahmed Ghali, a rescue worker
for 19 years, said he had helped pull about 20 bodies from the wreckage of
the justice ministry and said this blast was worse than the suicide truck
bomb on August 19 which was seen as a major setback to Iraq's improving
security. Hallmarks of Al Qaeda, says government Government spokesman Ali
al-Dabbagh said the attack had the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda operation and said
they could be aimed at disrupting parliamentary elections scheduled for
January. But with parliament still
deadlocked over passing an election law that would allow Iraqis to vote for
individual candidates and the wreckage of the day's attacks around them,
people in the streets seemed disinclined to vote. "Who are we going to
vote for - they're all thieves," said Mr Fadhil, one of a crowd of men
who said they were not going to vote in January. "They promised us a
paradise of gold and this is what we get." External link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1025/p06s01-wome.html |