A series of deadly attacks in Baghdad killed at least 103 people and injured
more that 240 yesterday, casting shadows on security operation between the Iraqi
government and US forces to curb violence.
Two car bombs and a suicide bomber killed 65 people and wounded132 near a
university in eastern Baghdad, a well-informed Interior Ministry official told
Xinhua.
The blasts occurred at around 4:00 p.m. (1300 GMT) while many students and
employees in Al-Mustansriyah University, who finished their courses and work,
were waiting at an entrance for minibuses and cars to take them home, the
official said on condition of anonymity.
Two explosive-laden cars went off in short succession, killing dozens of
people. While many scared people were fleeing the scene,a suicide bomber blew
himself up, causing heavy casualties, the official added.
Meanwhile, gunmen in a minivan and on two motorcycles sprayed shoppers at a
market in eastern Baghdad with automatic gunfire, killing 15 people and injuring
20, a police source told Xinhua.
Early in the morning, a roadside bomb went off near a police patrol in
central Baghdad, leaving four people dead and 10 others wounded.
At around midday, twin blasts near a Sunni mosque in Bab al-Sheikh
neighborhood in central Baghdad killed 15 people and injured 70 others.
Two hours later, a bomb-rigged minibus went off in Sadr City in eastern
Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 10 others.
The attacks coincided with a report released by the United Nations that more
than 34,000 Iraqis were killed in violence last year.
"The situation is particularly grave in Baghdad, where most casualties and
unidentified bodies that are daily recorded also bear signs of torture," Gianni
Magazzeni, the UN human rights chief in Iraq, told reporters on Tuesday.
Magazzeni said the UN figures were compiled from information obtained from
the Iraqi Health Ministry, operation centers at hospitals across the country and
other agencies.
He rapped the Iraqi government for failing to curb violence and blamed some
militias, active inside police and army, for killings and sectarian attacks.
"Without significant progress in the rule of law, sectarian violence will
continue indefinitely and eventually spiral out of control," Magazzeni warned.
The latest carnage came days before Iraqi authorities and U.S. forces are
going to carry out a new security plan in Baghdad to crack down on illegal
militants from all sectors.
U.S. President George W. Bush also pledged to send additional 21,500 soldiers
to Iraq, most of them to Baghdad. However, many doubt if it will
work