Posted on 01/05/2006 6:01:39 AM PST by propertius
KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers killed at least 110 people and wounded more than 200 in the Iraqi cities of Kerbala and Ramadi on Thursday, the second consecutive day of concerted insurgent attacks.
Another three bombs exploded in Baghdad, two of them detonated by suicide bombers, and a roadside bomb targeted a U.S convoy near the southern Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, destroying a Humvee and killing at least two civilians.
Coming a day after 58 people died in a wave of bombings and shootings, the latest bloodshed appeared certain to ratchet up tension between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims after December's election.
Kerbala is one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest cities while Ramadi is a Sunni Arab stronghold and a hotbed of insurgency.
The bombs shattered hope that Iraq might start 2006 on a more peaceful footing.
In all, violence has killed more than 225 people and wounded more than 280 in the five days since the New Year started, a death toll comparable with some of the nation's bloodiest weeks since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
"These groups of dark terror will not succeed through these cowardly acts in dissuading Iraqis in their bid to form a government of national unity," President Jalal Talabani said in response to the attacks.
BLOOD AND DEBRIS
The Kerbala bomber detonated an explosive belt laced with ballbearings and a grenade, killing 51 and wounding 138.
Television pictures showed pools of blood in the street, which was littered with debris. Passers-by loaded the wounded into the backs of cars and vans, and one black-clad woman stood crying while clutching her dead or wounded baby to her chest.
Soon afterwards, another bomber blew himself up near a group of police and army recruits in the western city of Ramadi, in the worst single attack in Iraq since July 2005.
The death toll from the last two days now stands at 180, the most intense violence since the election.
Couldn't see this posted anywhere else.
Five US soldiers killed in Iraq bombing
BAGHDAD, Jan 5 (AFP) - Five US soldiers were killed on Thursday when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle while on patrol in Iraq, the US military said.
"Five Task Force Baghdad Soldiers were killed today when an improvised explosive device struck their vehicle while on patrol in the Multi-National-Division Baghdad area of operations," it said in a statement.
The military did not immediately give an exact location of the attack.
The latest casualties took the death toll of US soldiers in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003 to at least 2,186, according to an AFP toll based on figures from the Pentagon.
You can't HANG somebody for a suicide bombing, they're already dead.
But vengeance has to pursue these a$$holes beyond the grave and the world has to begin to understand that a suicide bombing is a group crime and not an individual crime.
Basically, you go after their bodies, and you go after their families. You put whatever is left of one of these criminals in a box along with the remains of a pig, and drop it into the center of his town or village from 30,000 feet for everybody there to see.
And, if you really want to be serious about the whole thing, you round up every member of the a$$hole's immediate family and kill them; mother, father, brothers, sisters, wife, and kids.
If that sounds terrible, consider that you'd only have to do it once or twice, and there'd never be another suicide bombing. Twenty or thirty people would die as opposed to the hundreds who are dying now.
Seven U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq-military, police
Baghdad, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Five U.S. soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle while on patrol in Baghdad on Thursday, the U.S. military said.
Another two American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb near the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, Iraqi police said.
Police had earlier said that only two civilians were killed in the Najaf incident.
I agree. Furthermore we know these bombers are trained and supported by Syria and Iran. Nothing prevents the US to sponsor the same type of attacks on their elites and elite communities where their families go shopping and recreation. During World War II when one country sends bombers to attack cities, the attacked country retaliates in the same manner. Countries that uses terrorism to attack civil targets should get the same treatment. You cannot win a war where your civilians are being killed and you refrain yourself from doing the same. The other side will consider your restraint weakness and will escalate the intensity of the attacks.
Its a great amount of people to die, for what?
Who did the killing and why?
It certainly wasnt done because US troops are in Iraq.
This is one side of Arabs against another.
What are the side? Sunni-Shiite?
Someone should be laying the blame on a faction, we are getting lousy information, who is killing whom and for what?This isnt about US occupation this is about a power struggle its politics.
There will never be a perfect solution. Israel does a darn good job of detection, and offers a good education.
Otherwise, tongue in cheek, we could make it illegal for people to congregate (for their own protection), thereby creating a world with no targets.
History has some great examples of "Corruption of Blood" and similar extended penalties.
I get the sick feeling this attack is because of the democrats encouragement.
You're wrong. Pursue accomplices and those who aid them. Killing innocent children purposely and people who had nothing to do with it is Saddam-like.
Like I say, these are group crimes and not individual crimes. These guys are doing these crimes for their families and their groups. Kill the incentive, and the bull**** will stop; go on trying to pretend there's no such thing as a group crime, and we're going to lose.
Actually, collective punishment only furthers the cycle of voilence. Ask the Israelis.
/sarcasm
This is the crap we'll put up with until the Sunni Triangle is turned into the Sunni Great Big Hole in the Ground. WTF are we waiting for? Holy sites my arse!
Check out the "post the LATEST pic of yourself" in the DU lounge section.
These DUmmies are very scary looking people with an inordinate number of spots on their faces.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a link or not...
That is as foolish as much as it is emotional. That's probably the best way to have the suicide bombers standing in a line that wraps around the recruiting office. We don't need emotion to take over.
We fought World War II using the concept of "Collective Punishment", and we never again had to worry about the Japanese or Germans.
Coincidence? No.
"Unless the world finds a solution to the suicide bomber, the terrorists are going to win."
I think in the end we are going to win. We're expected to be there for many years to come and the insurgents will diminish in number, either by killing themselves by exploding suicide bombers, or get killed by American forces or go to prison. It's an uphill battle but eventually America will win.
Hey man, I am all for turning that whole place into a sheet of glass. Unfortunately, the rest of the world would go apesh*@ if we did anything resembling that. Did you check the BBC today? The Norwegian finance minister is agreeing with an economic boycott of Israel. Justified or not, that is what happens when a country tries to defend itself.
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