Two suicide bombs kill at least 75 people in Iraq

Note: The two brothers of Counterpunch.org Alexander Cockburn and Patrick Cockburn have held on to the notion that a database name by [al-Qa'ida], (this being the way the brothers spell the database), is responsible for 9-11. They won't budge from this belief they held onto it for over seven years against stunning evidence that would refute their belief. I guess, when it comes to [al-Qa'ida] it is like religion for the Counterpunch brothers. Kurt Nimmo, a great reporter who used to write for Counterpunch quit because he could not take either the deliberate lies or perhaps out of not wanting to change their mind and look silly to their followers by the Counterpunch brothers.

Thursday: Two suicide bombs kill at least 75 people in Iraq

By Patrick Cockburn

Friday, 24 April 2009

Share Digg It del.icio.us Facebook Reddit Print Article Email Article Text Size

NormalLargeExtra Large

Two suicide bombings in separate parts of Iraq yesterday killed at least 75 people, most of them Iranian pilgrims and refugees fleeing earlier sectarian attacks. The killings underlined the continuing violence in Iraq, with the departure of US troops from its city centres little more than a month away.

60 die in deadliest Iraq bombing since June

Just after the explosions, the Baghdad government said it had arrested Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of al-Qa'ida in Iraq, which is believed to be behind most of the sectarian bombings. His detention would be a success for the Iraqi authorities but previous claims that he had been caught turned out to be untrue.

The most devastating bombing took place at Muqdadiya, 50 miles north-east of Baghdad in Diyala province, which has been the scene of mass killings by Shia, Sunni and Kurds. The bomber blew himself up among a group of Iranian pilgrims who had come to see Shia holy sites in Iraq and were having lunch in a packed restaurant. Police said 47 people died, all but two of them Iranians, and 67 were injured. It was the worst single attack in Iraq this year, although they have become more frequent in recent months.

Abdulnasir al-Muntasirbillah, who was spending his first day in office as Diyala's governor yesterday, said: "I just left the hospital of Baquba. The scenes there are catastrophic. Words cannot express it. It is a dirty, cowardly terrorist act."

A second suicide bomber in Baghdad also chose a soft target, blowing herself up among refugees who had been driven from their homes by sectarian killings. Police said 28 people were killed and 50 wounded as officers distributed aid.

The attacks probably have less to do with the departure of US troops than with al-Qa'ida wanting to show it is still in business. It clearly has enough volunteer suicide bombers, explosives, safe houses and intelligence on targets to continue its present campaign.

At the same time, it is almost impossible for Iraqi security forces to protect crowds of civilians, however many checkpoints they set up.