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| Iraq |
| 30 dead in bombing of Iraqi hospital |
| 2005-11-24 |
| A suicide car bomber today killed 30 people outside a hospital in central Iraq, including four police guards, three women and two children. Four US soldiers who had been handing out toys to children outside the hospital in Mahmoudiya, about 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, were injured in the blast. Dr. Dawoud al-Taie, the director of the Mahmoudiyah hospital, said that 35 other people were also wounded. A US military statement said: "Task Force Baghdad civil affairs soldiers were at the hospital conducting an assessment for upgrades to the facility when the car bomb detonated. Task Force Baghdad officials said the target appears to have been the hospital, but the terrorist was unable to penetrate the security perimeter before detonating." However an Iraqi army spokesman said that the bomber was targeting US military vehicles parked near the hospital. "It was an explosion at the gate of the hospital," said one woman who had wounds on her face and legs. "My children are gone. My brother is gone." Mahmoudiya is a religiously mixed town in the so-called triangle of death, a region known for attacks on coalition forces and on Shia Muslims on their way to visit shrines south of the region. In July 13 a suicide bomber killed 18 children and teenagers getting sweets and toys from American soldiers. One of the soldiers was among the 27 people killed in that blast in an impoverished Shia area of Baghdad. In a separate incident, at least two people died when a car bomb exploded this afternoon in the Shia city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, police said. The bomb went off near a crowded soft drink stand, police Captain Muthanna Khalid said. It was unclear whether the car was driven by a suicide attacker. Hilla, 95 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, has frequently been targeted by suicide bombers. On February 28, a suicide car bomber killed 125 people in Hillah, the deadliest single strike since the fall of Saddam Hussein. In a press conference today, a government spokesman, Laith Kubba, said that insurgent attacks are expected to rise before elections on December 15. He said that "Muslim extremists and Saddam (Hussein’s) criminals" will be making their last stand. On Wednesday, gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms burst into the home of a Sunni Arab sheikh whose brother is an election candidate, killing him, three of his sons and a son-in-law in an attack that police said may have been aimed at discouraging members of the minority from participating in next month’s election. Some insurgent groups have declared a boycott of the election and have threatened politicians who participate. Police Major Falah al-Mohammedawi denied that the Shia- dominated government forces were involved in the killings, and blamed the insurgents. "Surely, they are outlaw insurgents. As for the military uniform, they can be bought from many shops in Baghdad," he said, adding that several police and army vehicles had been stolen and could be used in raids. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 If the spokesman did indeed use the phrase, "moslem extremists" and if this phrase gets used more in Iraq by the general population it may be a psychological breakthrough. This is because the mental barrier that prevents Iraqis (not to mention Syrians, Saudis, etc.) from admitting to themselves that Islam is the cause of their problems. |
| Posted by: mhw 2005-11-24 21:20 |
| #2 Victory thru Superior Chanting! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-11-24 19:54 |
| #1 The Democrats are also to blame for these deaths. Their seditous talk encourages suicide attacks and terrorist in Iraq. Children's blood on Democrats hands. Hey Hey. Ho Ho. Cut and run Murtha has got to go! Hey Hey, Ho Ho, traitor Pelosi has got to go! Hey Hey, Ho Ho, back shooter Kerry has got to go! |
| Posted by: Mahou Sensei Negi-bozu 2005-11-24 17:12 |