Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Restaurants get off to a quick start thanks to game-changing policies
High service charges on event ticket refunds call for further regulation
Sunday
- Subscribe
Related News
15 die as US troop withdrawal nears
Source: Agencies |
June 23, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BOMBINGS killed at least 15 people in the Baghdad area yesterday as violence intensified ahead of next week's planned withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq's major cities and urban areas.
The bombings, nearly all in Shiite areas of the capital, came just two days after the year's deadliest attack - a truck bombing that killed at least 75 people in northern Iraq.
The escalating violence will test the Shiite-dominated government's ability to provide security around the country without the immediate help of the US troops remaining in Iraq.
From June 30, most of the 133,000 American troops left in Iraq will be housed in large bases outside the capital and other cities - unable to react unless called on for help. The withdrawal is part of an agreement under which all US troops are to leave by the end of 2011.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on the Shiite-led government to take whatever steps necessary to protect Iraqis from attacks. But in a statement, the anti-American cleric blamed the violence on the continued presence of US troops and demanded a faster withdrawal.
"The Iraqi people are heading toward a new phase that might lift them out from their suffering," the cleric said.
In Baghdad's Sadr City, a bomb exploded next to a bus carrying students to exams, killing at least three people and wounding 13, including three students, police said.
Police patrol
At least five people were killed and 20 wounded by a bomb planted near a car in the Karradah district of the Iraqi capital, on the east side of the Tigris River. Another roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Baghdad's Ur district, killing three and wounding 25.
In the fourth attack, a suicide car bomber targeted the mayor's offices in Abu Ghraib. The explosion occurred before the car reached the government building. Four civilians were killed and 10 people were wounded, including three US soldiers.
The bombings, nearly all in Shiite areas of the capital, came just two days after the year's deadliest attack - a truck bombing that killed at least 75 people in northern Iraq.
The escalating violence will test the Shiite-dominated government's ability to provide security around the country without the immediate help of the US troops remaining in Iraq.
From June 30, most of the 133,000 American troops left in Iraq will be housed in large bases outside the capital and other cities - unable to react unless called on for help. The withdrawal is part of an agreement under which all US troops are to leave by the end of 2011.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on the Shiite-led government to take whatever steps necessary to protect Iraqis from attacks. But in a statement, the anti-American cleric blamed the violence on the continued presence of US troops and demanded a faster withdrawal.
"The Iraqi people are heading toward a new phase that might lift them out from their suffering," the cleric said.
In Baghdad's Sadr City, a bomb exploded next to a bus carrying students to exams, killing at least three people and wounding 13, including three students, police said.
Police patrol
At least five people were killed and 20 wounded by a bomb planted near a car in the Karradah district of the Iraqi capital, on the east side of the Tigris River. Another roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Baghdad's Ur district, killing three and wounding 25.
In the fourth attack, a suicide car bomber targeted the mayor's offices in Abu Ghraib. The explosion occurred before the car reached the government building. Four civilians were killed and 10 people were wounded, including three US soldiers.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
