Suicide car bomb kills 20 cops in central Iraq
Source: Agencies |
May 6, 2011, Friday
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A SUICIDE car bomber crashed his vehicle into a barrier outside a police building in central Iraq yesterday, killing 20 police officers and wounding dozens more, a local councilman said.
The blast is the second significant attack in Iraq since the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday at the hands of a United States commando team in Pakistan. Iraqis have been on edge, waiting for al-Qaida's branch in Iraq to strike back as a way to demonstrate it is still dangerous.
Iraqi officials have said they are increasing security in the wake of bin Laden's killing. Already security is vastly improved since the days when bin Laden's associates terrorized the country, but yesterday's deadly attack underscored how difficult it is for Iraq to wipe out all traces of the insurgency.
A police official said the bomber hit when officers were assembling in a square in front of the police building for a shift change in the city of Hillah, 95 kilometers south of the capital Baghdad.
A member of the region's Babil Provincial Council, Hamid al-Milli, said 20 policemen were killed and 40 more wounded in the blast. He said the car was likely loaded with about 150 kilograms of explosives. The attacker sped toward the police building and the guards did not have a chance to shoot at him.
A witness at the scene said the blast knocked down the concrete ceiling covering a parking lot where many police cars were parked.
The fact that the bomber was able to wipe out so many policemen in one blast immediately raised questions about security at the building.
"The incident is definitely a security breach and all the security services in the province, especially the police command, are held responsible for that," said Mansour al-Mani'i, a member of the Hillah council.
The police building targeted is located in an important commercial area in Hillah. But many people were not yet at work, meaning the casualties were lower than could have been.
Hillah is a predominantly Shiite city but its proximity to the Triangle of Death - a mainly Sunni area that at one time was one of the most dangerous in the country - has made it a frequent target of Sunni extremists.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for yesterday's blast, but militants like al-Qaida in Iraq have often tried to take out Iraqi forces as a way to undermine security in the country. "The attack bears the hallmark of al-Qaida which is renewing its efforts to destabilize the country," said al-Milli.
On Tuesday, a car bomb tore through a cafe in Baghdad packed with young men watching a football match on TV, killing at least 16.
The blast is the second significant attack in Iraq since the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday at the hands of a United States commando team in Pakistan. Iraqis have been on edge, waiting for al-Qaida's branch in Iraq to strike back as a way to demonstrate it is still dangerous.
Iraqi officials have said they are increasing security in the wake of bin Laden's killing. Already security is vastly improved since the days when bin Laden's associates terrorized the country, but yesterday's deadly attack underscored how difficult it is for Iraq to wipe out all traces of the insurgency.
A police official said the bomber hit when officers were assembling in a square in front of the police building for a shift change in the city of Hillah, 95 kilometers south of the capital Baghdad.
A member of the region's Babil Provincial Council, Hamid al-Milli, said 20 policemen were killed and 40 more wounded in the blast. He said the car was likely loaded with about 150 kilograms of explosives. The attacker sped toward the police building and the guards did not have a chance to shoot at him.
A witness at the scene said the blast knocked down the concrete ceiling covering a parking lot where many police cars were parked.
The fact that the bomber was able to wipe out so many policemen in one blast immediately raised questions about security at the building.
"The incident is definitely a security breach and all the security services in the province, especially the police command, are held responsible for that," said Mansour al-Mani'i, a member of the Hillah council.
The police building targeted is located in an important commercial area in Hillah. But many people were not yet at work, meaning the casualties were lower than could have been.
Hillah is a predominantly Shiite city but its proximity to the Triangle of Death - a mainly Sunni area that at one time was one of the most dangerous in the country - has made it a frequent target of Sunni extremists.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for yesterday's blast, but militants like al-Qaida in Iraq have often tried to take out Iraqi forces as a way to undermine security in the country. "The attack bears the hallmark of al-Qaida which is renewing its efforts to destabilize the country," said al-Milli.
On Tuesday, a car bomb tore through a cafe in Baghdad packed with young men watching a football match on TV, killing at least 16.
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