Posted on 08/17/2010 6:00:42 PM PDT by markomalley
A SUICIDE bomber sat for hours yesterday among hundreds of army recruits before detonating nail-packed explosives strapped to his body, killing 61 people and casting new doubt on the ability of Iraqi forces as US troops head home.
Bodies of bloodied young men, some still clutching job applications in their hands, were scattered on the ground outside the military headquarters in central Baghdad. Some of the estimated 1,000 men who had gathered there before dawn for a good spot in line were so desperate for work they returned hours after being treated at hospitals for injuries in the attack.
Though Iraq’s military and police recruiting centres have been attacked repeatedly, there was virtually no security provided for the hundreds of men seeking to hand in applications on the last day they were being accepted at the headquarters for the Iraqi army’s 11th division.
The bomber, it appears, walked up and joined the applicants. Witnesses said he approached an officer collecting ID cards and set off a blast that split his own body in two.
"Severed hands and legs were falling over me. I was soaked with blood from the body parts and wounded and dead people falling over and beside me," said Yasir Ali, who had been outside the military headquarters since 4am.
It was one of the bloodiest bombings in months in the Iraqi capital and was an embarrassment for Iraq’s military as it tries to reassure the nation it can fill the gap left by America’s departing military. At the end of this month, US troops will number just 50,000 and will be involved only in limited combat operations.
"We couldn’t get another place for the recruits," said Iraqi military spokesman Major Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, explaining why the army used an open and unprotected site in central Baghdad’s Maidan Square
"It was difficult to control the area because it’s an open area and because of the large number of recruits," he said.
He blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the attack.
Yesterday’s blast took place at around 7.30am outside the former Ministry of Defence building, which now houses the army’s 11th division headquarters.
The location normally receives about 250 new recruits each week, but numbers swelled yesterday because of the deadline for applications.
Iraqi security forces have been trying to boost their numbers as the US military leaves the country after seven years of war. Whether Iraqi forces are ready is being hotly debated by American and Iraqi officials.
Iraq’s military commander, Gen Babaker Shawkat Zebari, acknowledged last week that his army may not be ready to defend the nation until 2020.
Recognising the weaknesses, insurgents have intensified attacks on Iraqi army, police and other security forces in recent weeks.
At least two recruits who witnessed yesterday’s attack raised the possibility that a car had also exploded at the scene, which could account for the high death toll. But al-Moussawi blamed the deaths on a single suicide bomber.
"We were sitting there, and somebody began shouting about a parked car," said one of the recruits, Ali Ibrahim, 21, who suffered minor shrapnel wounds.
Officials at four Baghdad hospitals confirmed the death toll of 61 and said 125 others were injured.
This summer in particular has seen a spike in violence in Iraq. Data from the Iraqi defence, interior and ministry officials show that July marked the bloodiest month since May 2008, with more than 500 killed, although tallies compiled by The Associated Press and the US military were lower.
In a similar attack last month, a suicide bomber ripped through a line of anti al-Qaida Sunni fighters waiting to collect their pay cheques near an Iraqi military base, killing 45 people in the mostly Sunni district of Radwaniya south-west of Baghdad.
I guess a gate and stripping to your underpants before proceeding is too difficult..
The only way to rule a Muslim land is with heavy-handed, brutal, vicious force.
It’s not too difficult to cruise the news archives and find article after article after article in which writer after writer after writer pointed out the fallacy of putting a timeline on US and allied withdrawal from Iraq (and from Afghanistan).
The common thread: the enemy would lie in wait, biding his time, content to heal his wounds and rebuild his strength, all in anticipation of that point where the international forces begin to pull out and the Iraqi forces assume a greater role in the security of the country. They would escalate their offensive actions and begin to claim victory evidenced by the pull out of the infidels, leaving the nation to its own sad devices.
Coming true before our very eyes...
While it is a sad situation,on the plus side, they at least blew up their own.
On the other hand: we have a $1.4 Trillion dollar annual deficit. America has serious problems. We have decapitated the Iraqi monster, Saddam. At some point the Iraqi people will have to determine their own fate. If their fate is endless internal fratricide, is it really our unending job to prevent it?
Why?
I see plenty of threats a LOT closer to home than Sunni vs. Shia conflict in Iraq. The Arizona border, for instance. The lack of jobs and manufacturing in the USA. Etc.
Sheesh. This sounds like Danang and Hue, early 1975.
Or Berlin in 1945 and 1946. The difference is we stayed in Germany until it stabilized then remained as a counter to the Soviets.
Iraq is producing about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day. The Iraqi oil industry believes it could produce 12 million barrels a day if more reserves were developed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.