[KAding]

Hello,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6327057.stm

Baghdad market bomb 'kills 102'
At least 102 people have been killed and 215 injured in a lorry bombing at a market place in Baghdad, Iraqi security officials have said.

The attack, the worst this year, took place at the market in central al-Sadriya district.

Earlier, a series of car bombs exploded in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing five people and injuring 40 others.

The Iraqi violence continues despite a new US initiative that will see an extra 21,500 troops deployed.

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Baghdad says police sources are now correcting initial reports of a suicide attack at the market and say the lorry had been parked.

The attack is the worst this year - 88 people died in the bombing of the Haraj market on 22 January.

Only the co-ordinated bombings in Baghdad's Sadr City in November, which killed more than 200 people, caused more deaths.

Markets, with their increased potential for casualties, have become a regular target for bombers over recent months.

'Destabilising'

In the Kirkuk attacks, seven bombs - one said to be a suicide blast - went off in different parts of the ethnically mixed city over a two-hour period.

Two of the bombs targeted the headquarters of two Kurdish parties - the Kurdish Democratic Party led by of Massoud Barzani, head of the northern Kurdish region, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, headed by Iraq's President, Jalal Talabani.

Others hit a petrol station, Kirkuk's commercial district and several other locations, reports said.

Razqar Ali, a Kurdish leader and head of Kirkuk provincial council, accused militants of trying to destabilise the city amid efforts by some Kurds to include it in the autonomous Kurdish region.

A curfew was imposed after the blasts and would run from 1600 (1300 GMT) to 0600 on Sunday, AFP news agency said.

Earlier, police said gunmen attacked a checkpoint near Samarra, killing six police and injuring another six.

Samarra is a mainly Sunni town 125km (80 miles) north of Baghdad where an attack on an important Shia shrine last February sparked Iraq's current sectarian violence.

Wow imsad. Who is doing this? You know what I find so odd about this conflict, that nobody seems to care to find out who is perpetrating these acts. The press no longer even seems to bother to speculate on who is doing it, they don't even bother to say "the perpetrators are unknown". It's as if these massive collosal suicide attacks/car bombs are a natural phenonemon. Who is commiting these acts? The bloodshed IMHO is unparalleled anywhere in the Muslim world.

As far as bloodshed goes in a civil war, Iraq is absolutely amazing. Have there been attacks that are comparable to attacks like these in other civil conflicts in recent history? And on this scale, this is happening almost on a weekly basis, with smaller attacks on civilian targets daily. Compare this to for example the Sarajevo (Bosnia) shelling of a market, in which 66 people died in 1994. The international outcry was massive, the press talked about this for weeks. There was even an international intervention.

Compare that to the apparent complete disinterest in both the Western and Muslim press and public concerning Iraq. Heck, this is Muslims dying by the thousands and its apparently a complete non-starter on this Muslim forum even. It's at least as bad among non-Muslims I sometimes get the sense they just shrug and think something along the lines of: "well, if they want to slaughter each other thats up to them".

Something must be done to stop this senseless carnage. Anyone have any ideas, because frankly, I am completely clueless on this. Do people here think it will help if the Americans get out ASAP? Will that stop this carnage or make it worse? To answer that question it kinda matters to know who is actually doing most of the attacks in Iraq. Do people here have anymore of a clue about that than I do? Perhaps Muslim news sources go into more details than the Western press? Why are they attacking markets? What is the rationale behind it?

Anyway, I feel this needs to be discussed.

 

[Keltoi]

Hello,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6327057.stm


Wow imsad. Who is doing this? You know what I find so odd about this conflict, that nobody seems to care to find out who is perpetrating these acts. The press no longer even seems to bother to speculate on who is doing it, they don't even bother to say "the perpetrators are unknown". It's as if these massive collosal suicide attacks/car bombs are a natural phenonemon. Who is commiting these acts? The bloodshed IMHO is unparalleled anywhere in the Muslim world.

As far as bloodshed goes in a civil war, Iraq is absolutely amazing. Have there been attacks that are comparable to attacks like these in other civil conflicts in recent history? And on this scale, this is happening almost on a weekly basis, with smaller attacks on civilian targets daily. Compare this to for example the Sarajevo (Bosnia) shelling of a market, in which 66 people died in 1994. The international outcry was massive, the press talked about this for weeks. There was even an international intervention.

Compare that to the apparent complete disinterest in both the Western and Muslim press and public concerning Iraq. Heck, this is Muslims dying by the thousands and its apparently a complete non-starter on this Muslim forum even. It's at least as bad among non-Muslims I sometimes get the sense they just shrug and think something along the lines of: "well, if they want to slaughter each other thats up to them".

Something must be done to stop this senseless carnage. Anyone have any ideas, because frankly, I am completely clueless on this. Do people here think it will help if the Americans get out ASAP? Will that stop this carnage or make it worse? To answer that question it kinda matters to know who is actually doing most of the attacks in Iraq. Do people here have anymore of a clue about that than I do? Perhaps Muslim news sources go into more details than the Western press? Why are they attacking markets? What is the rationale behind it?

Anyway, I feel this needs to be discussed.

It does need to be discussed, but the answers you will get will range from conspiracies involving Israel and the U.S., to "this is what the Americans want", etc. It isn't talked about much in the media, but the U.S. and others are coming to the conclusion that Iran is behind many of these high profile attacks, whether directly or indirectly. I have a hard time believing that native born Iraqis would involve themselves in this sort of carnage against their own country. I could be wrong.

 

[lavikor201]

If Israel did this, there would be about 50 pages of hate in this thread already.

 

[starfortress]

Wow . Who is doing this? You know what I find so odd about this conflict, that nobody seems to care to find out who is perpetrating these acts. The press no longer even seems to bother to speculate on who is doing it, they don't even bother to say "the perpetrators are unknown". It's as if these massive collosal suicide attacks/car bombs are a natural phenonemon. Who is commiting these acts? The bloodshed IMHO is unparalleled anywhere in the Muslim world.

Hi

May i ask you who is the Boss overthere(Bush,Nuri,Moqtada,Muslim world etc),yes all Muslims are Brothers.The killing in Iraq is just like a stripes pattern,done by terrorist then another casualties done by US then suspected terrorist victims got killed done by Iraqis troops then the list go on and repeats,there to many of killing has happened everyday.And of course the perpetrators are unknown because Mr Bush had already declared Mission Accomplished onboard the USS Lincoln.

IMO I says there are thousands of psychological,emotional disorder peoples in Iraq as a direct results of wars have to dealing with these feeling desperate,dissapointed,sadness,misery,hopeless,revenge(anykind of sad words) and all of them are ready without hesitation to participated in any movement that will fills their emty heart or atleast will say a hopes to them,plus they have nothing more to lost.Looks how easy a mans commited a suicides because of broken heart,imagine in Iraq million+ heart had been broken by Saddam,Bush,sectarian etc

As far as bloodshed goes in a civil war, Iraq is absolutely amazing. Have there been attacks that are comparable to attacks like these in other civil conflicts in recent history? And on this scale, this is happening almost on a weekly basis, with smaller attacks on civilian targets daily. Compare this to for example the Sarajevo (Bosnia) shelling of a market, in which 66 people died in 1994. The international outcry was massive, the press talked about this for weeks. There was even an international intervention.

As far as i know US is the first government introduced the Domino Theories,its weird when they couldn't expects what will happen after the collapsed of Saddam Regimes.Now the theories has becoming reality.

 

[Keltoi]

Hi

May i ask you who is the Boss overthere(Bush,Nuri,Moqtada,Muslim world etc),yes all Muslims are Brothers.The killing in Iraq is just like a stripes pattern,done by terrorist then another casualties done by US then suspected terrorist victims got killed done by Iraqis troops then the list go on and repeats,there to many of killing has happened everyday.And of course the perpetrators are unknown because Mr Bush had already declared Mission Accomplished onboard the USS Lincoln.

IMO I says there are thousands of psychological,emotional disorder peoples in Iraq as a direct results of wars have to dealing with these feeling desperate,dissapointed,sadness,misery,hopeless,revenge(anykind of sad words) and all of them are ready without hesitation to participated in any movement that will fills their emty heart or atleast will say a hopes to them,plus they have nothing more to lost.Looks how easy a mans commited a suicides because of broken heart,imagine in Iraq million+ heart had been broken by Saddam,Bush,sectarian etc



As far as i know US is the first government introduced the Domino Theories,its weird when they couldn't expects what will happen after the collapsed of Saddam Regimes.Now the theories has becoming reality.

I might be willing to accept your theory about Iraqis being so "shell-shocked" or "hopeless" as to carry out attacks, but would the average Iraqi, regardless of their past, participate in killing women and children at a market? How is that giving them "hope"? Most evidence points to a concentrated effort by some entity to keep the violence going, regardless of what the Iraqis want.

As for the Domino Theory, I'm not sure how that is related to this situation at all. The Domino Theory was based on Communists taking over vulnerable governments if a stand wasn't taken to stem the tide.

 

[starfortress]

I might be willing to accept your theory about Iraqis being so "shell-shocked" or "hopeless" as to carry out attacks, but would the average Iraqi, regardless of their past, participate in killing women and children at a market? How is that giving them "hope"? Most evidence points to a concentrated effort by some entity to keep the violence going, regardless of what the Iraqis want.

As for the Domino Theory, I'm not sure how that is related to this situation at all. The Domino Theory was based on Communists taking over vulnerable governments if a stand wasn't taken to stem the tide.

Thats why i said those Iraqis having these psychological,emotional disorder simply lost their mind balancing in making a decision and the terrorist will seek an advantage upon their weakness by giving them maybe psychotherapy or brainwash.Then slowly switch the sadness feeling to emerge as revenge person,fighting person and highly spirit persons.At this stage they wouldn't realize which right or wrong.

I was referring Iraq's and Bosnia's situation,where in Bosnia you got Serbs,Croats,Bosnian and yugoslavian,that weren't many items need to be collapse. While in Iraq you got Sunni Arabs,Sunni Kurds,Shiite Arabs ,Terrorist,Baath Party,Iraqis Troops,unknown elements etc all of them fighting for their dominance.One thing not to forget, not only the US want it(play domino),but everyone too.

 

[IzakHalevas]

Any updates on that people who did this?

 

[KAding]

Any updates on that people who did this?

Nope, nothing whatsoever.

Incidently, today there was a similar attack on a market today.

Dozens killed in Baghdad bombings
At least 55 people have been killed in three bomb attacks in market areas of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Two bombs went off in quick succession at the Shorja market, killing more than 46 people and wounding about 150.

Half an hour earlier a parcel bomb exploded at the Bab al-Sharqi market, killing about 10 people.

The blasts came either side of a 15-minute pause to commemorate a bomb attack on an important Shia shrine in Samarra one year ago.

The Samarra attack - on 22 February, but a year ago by the Islamic calendar - triggered an upsurge in sectarian violence which still grips the country costing thousands of lives a month.

Shorja market was once Baghdad's main shopping area, but amid the violent division of Iraq's religious communities it is now mostly a Shia Muslim area, and a target for Sunni extremist groups.

One report said two cars packed with explosives were detonated in quick succession, collapsing a building and setting shops on fire.

Iraqis had been urged to stop what they were doing for a quarter of an hour at midday (0900 GMT) on Monday to mark the attack on Samarra.

Bab al-Sharqi is a rare phenomenon in Baghdad, correspondents say, in that it is still frequented by Sunni and Shia traders and customers.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6353487.stm

Published: 2007/02/12 11:12:36 GMT

© BBC MMVII

This time "Sunni extremist groups" are blamed. But who are they exactly?

 

[imaad_udeen]

Sounds like Al Qaeda or a copycat homegrown group.

To build bombs big enough to cause that sort of damage must have involved a high degree of knowledge.

 

[north_malaysian]

I'm fed up of these daily bombings.... I just wonder how the Iraqis can live in this kind of situation... :'(

May God forbid this thing to happen elsewhere...

 

[AHMED_GUREY]

imsad imsad imsad imsad imsad imsad

 

[KAding]

And another one, this time a suicide bomber at a university:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6356339.stm

 

[KAding]

Another update, unfortunately.

Many dead in Baghdad market bomb

A car bombing has killed 30 people and injured at least 65 in the historic booksellers' district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The attack was near Mutanabbi Street, a busy area lined with book shops and open-air book stalls.

Witnesses said many shops were set on fire and more than a dozen cars were burnt out by the explosion.

Iraqi and US security forces are in the third week of a major operation to try to stem the violence in Baghdad.

The blast was the first major attack in Baghdad for several days and the most deadly since a female suicide bomber killed 40 people at a Baghdad college on 25 February.

Correspondents say the increase in checkpoints and troop numbers on the streets appear to have reduced death squad killings, but US military officials say car bombs remain a risk.

Thick smoke

Monday's explosion sent a huge column of black smoke into the sky over Baghdad's commercial centre.

Papers from the book market were floating through the air like leaflets dropped from a plane
Eyewitness Naim Daraji

Several witnesses were quoted as saying that a suicide car bomber carried out the attack.

Mutanabbi Street - named after a renowned classical Arabic poet - is an area of mixed Shia- and Sunni-owned businesses and customers.

A witness quoted by Reuters news agency said there were women and children among the casualties. People drove the injured to hospital in private cars without waiting for ambulances.

"There was so much smoke that I was vomiting," said the witness, who was in a bookshop when its windows were blown out by the blast.

"Papers from the book market were floating through the air like leaflets dropped from a plane," said Naim Daraji, a civil servant quoted by Associated Press.

"Pieces of flesh and the remains of books were scattered everywhere," he said.

In other reported violence, gunmen killed five people when they opened fire on Shia pilgrims in two separate incidents around Baghdad.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6423633.stm

Scores of Iraqi pilgrims killed

Up to 90 Shia pilgrims have been killed and more than 150 wounded in a double suicide bombing in the central Iraqi town of Hilla, police said.

Two bombers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up in a large crowd.

It was the deadliest in a number of attacks against pilgrims heading to the city of Karbala for a religious event.

Iraq has seen a sharp rise in violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims since an attack on a key Shia shrine in Samarra just over a year ago.

MAJOR ATTACKS
3 Feb 2007: 130 killed in lorry bomb in Baghdad's market in mainly Shia area
2 Dec 2006 : More than 50 killed in car bombs in same Baghdad market
23 Nov 2006: 200 killed in wave of car bombings and mortar blasts in Baghdad's Shia Sadr City
7 April 2006: 85 killed in triple suicide bombing at Shia mosque in Baghdad
Baghdad has been at the centre of a three-week-old US-Iraqi security push, and US military commanders have been warning that militants may focus their efforts on launching attacks outside the capital.

Some commentators have suggested that the Baghdad security push, which has weakened Shia militias, has had the effect of leaving them unable to protect their communities from Sunni militants, the BBC's Andrew North reports from Baghdad.

In other attacks on pilgrims, at least 10 people were killed in car bombings and shootings in Baghdad while three were killed in two separate shootings in Latifiya, to the south.

Shia ceremony

The attack in Hilla happened in the late afternoon.

ARBAEEN CEREMONY
Arbaeen ends 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohamed
It follows Ashura, which commemorates his slaying by Muslim rivals in 680
Imam Hussein's shrine is at Karbala
Shias were discouraged from visiting during Saddam Hussein's rule
At one local hospital, Dr Mohammed Timini told AFP news agency: "Among the wounded, there are 50 in a critical condition. Eighty percent of the casualties are young men, but there are women and children among the dead."

The attack was one of the deadliest single incidents in Iraq.

The worst single attack since the 2003 invasion was in Baghdad early last month, when at least 130 people were killed in a lorry bombing.

Thousands of pilgrims are heading to Karbala, 100km (70 miles) south of Baghdad, to attend the Arbaeen religious ceremony.

An Iraqi woman taking part in the pilgrimage, Eman Hussein, said news of the Hilla attacks had given pilgrims a greater determination than before to reach Karbala, her son told the BBC News website from London.

Arbaeen marks the end of 40 days of mourning for Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, who was killed along with his family in 681, by the Muslim ruler of Arabia, Yazid.

The day is one of the most solemn in the Shia calendar.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6418809.stm

The perpetrators think they are going to heaven for this act. Who has taught them that?

 

[AHMED_GUREY]

the descendants of the Babylonians and Abbassids could easily govern themselves

- Close the border with Iran and other bordering states to prevent weapon smuggling
- Put Sunni/Shia Islamists in power
- Get foreign troops out
- stimulate Iraqi culture and Islam so that the people reject a return to chaos and are pre-occuppied with more fruitfull day to day stuff
- pay for the reconstruction and maintain good relations
- Start a programe which will spark the return of Iraq's scientists,entrepreneurs and doctors who have left in large numbers since 2004

from there we could see a new beginning and Iraq might enter a new prosperous era Insha-allah

 

[Keltoi]

the descendants of the Babylonians and Abbassids could easily govern themselves

- Close the border with Iran and other bordering states to prevent weapon smuggling
- Put Sunni/Shia Islamists in power
- Get foreign troops out
- stimulate Iraqi culture and Islam so that the people reject a return to chaos and are pre-occuppied with more fruitfull day to day stuff
- pay for the reconstruction and maintain good relations
- Start a programe which will spark the return of Iraq's scientists,entrepreneurs and doctors who have left in large numbers since 2004

from there we could see a new beginning and Iraq might enter a new prosperous era Insha-allah

How do you propose to close the borders with Iran and Syria without the presence of U.S. and Coalition forces? The Iraqi Army isn't up to the task of doing that and maintaining some semblance of security in Baghdad.

The other ideas make sense though, except for "putting" Shia and Sunni "Islamists" in power...there is a democratic process at play here.

 

[AHMED_GUREY]

How do you propose to close the borders with Iran and Syria without the presence of U.S. and Coalition forces? The Iraqi Army isn't up to the task of doing that and maintaining some semblance of security in Baghdad.

The other ideas make sense though, except for "putting" Shia and Sunni "Islamists" in power...there is a democratic process at play here.

Recruit the former Iraqi soldiers(what happened to them?) to secure the borders, if that's impossible let the Coalition troops settle on these borders and away from the interior

Healthcare,Education and basic things like electricity and clean water should be made the nr 1 priority and real improvements should be made (cause if this continues to be neglected it will only cause more frustration)

 

[Keltoi]

Recruit the former Iraqi soldiers(what happened to them?) to secure the borders, if that's impossible let the Coalition troops settle on these borders and away from the interior

Healthcare,Education and basic things like electricity and clean water should be made the nr 1 priority and real improvements should be made (cause if this continues to be neglected it will only cause more frustration)

It is hard to concentrate on infrastructure when there is a segment of the population who would do anything to damage any improvement to infrastructure. Progress can't occur until there is enough security in the country for engineers and civil service people to work without fear for their lives.

 

[MTAFFI]

Recruit the former Iraqi soldiers(what happened to them?) to secure the borders

This is actually a very good question, I know some of the troops and police of Saddams reign were corrupt but surely not all of them, why not try to re-recruit them through series of screenings, etc to established significantly larger numbers of police and Iraqi military

Also, why does the Shia militia not support the US? They have many of the same goals, except the Mahdi army is trying to wipe out all Sunni's and the US is not. Seems like if they chose to fight with the US it could solve some problems, I personally think the Sunni groups are far more brutal and care much less about life than anyone else in Iraq

 

[Keltoi]

This is actually a very good question, I know some of the troops and police of Saddams reign were corrupt but surely not all of them, why not try to re-recruit them through series of screenings, etc to established significantly larger numbers of police and Iraqi military

Also, why does the Shia militia not support the US? They have many of the same goals, except the Mahdi army is trying to wipe out all Sunni's and the US is not. Seems like if they chose to fight with the US it could solve some problems, I personally think the Sunni groups are far more brutal and care much less about life than anyone else in Iraq

Actually you sort of hit the nail on the head. Many of the former Iraqi soldiers either joined Sunni or Shia militias.

 

[Joe98]

Healthcare,Education and basic things like electricity and clean water should be made the nr 1 priority and real improvements should be made (cause if this continues to be neglected…….

It was not neglected, it was the no 1 priority.

It was the no 1 priority as soon as Saddam was toppled

The US hired hundreds of civilian contractors to work on these things. However the insurgents attack the contractors and then US soldiers need to protect the contractors until ultimately the project is cancelled.

Then some blame the US for lack of education, healthcare, electricity and water.

The blame should be sheeted home where it belongs – with the insurgents!