Suicide bombers attacked Shiite worshipers at two mosques in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 50 in a grim reminder of the sectarian tensions that brought the country to the brink of civil war in the recent years. Zarqawi is dead, and his successor's just a pedestrian mass murderer. He lacks the twisted genius it would take to set of jihad and counter-jihad.
In Diyala province, north of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on a minibus outside the provincial capital of Baqubah, killing six members of a Sunni family, including children ages 5 and 6, according to Col. Raghib al-Omaiery of the Diyala military command.
Had we killed the kiddies by accident we'd be hearing about it for years -- and still might, even being totally uninvolved.
Such sectarian violence has dropped dramatically in recent months. But many analysts fear it could flare again as Iraq confronts a host of unresolved political problems.
The Iraqis are over the strategic hump now. Barring something not only unforeseen but actually out on the very bounds of imagination, they're going to kill the terrs. That doesn't mean they're ever going to be totally free of the infestation, and in fact it's likely the masters of terror will attempt to build a new infrastructure to replace AQI, possibly even trying to avoid its mistakes. But it's likely the violence will decline in the next few years to levels something like Egypt or Morocco sees.
The mosque attacks occurred as Muslims were leaving morning prayers celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan. In the Zafaraniya neighborhood, a white sedan exploded at an Iraqi security forces checkpoint near the Mohammad Rasoul Allah mosque, officials said. The blast blew apart a Humvee, killing six people and injuring 23, according to Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, a spokesman for Iraqi military operations in Baghdad.
The second explosion occurred near a mosque in another working-class southeastern neighborhood, Baghdad al-Jedidah or New Baghdad. A teenage boy in a long robe blew himself up about 8 a.m. at a makeshift checkpoint manned by mosque guards, officials said. At least 10 people died, including the bomber, and 31 were wounded, Atta said.
A few hours after the blasts, officials at the Baghdad al-Jedidah mosque sat in an anteroom off the carpeted prayer area, blaming Sunni extremists associated with the former government of Saddam Hussein or with the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. "Every day, every Friday at prayer time, we fear this," said Imat Abu Muhammad, one of the mosque managers.
Asked if revenge would follow, he and a mosque security official vigorously shook their heads. "No, we will never think like that," said Abu Muhammad.
But a young Islamic studies student in a long tan tunic, Ali Lazim, spoke up. "That doesn't mean we will keep staying quiet," he vowed. "We may have to reply to them, at a time of our own choosing. This will be according to an order" from Shiite religious leaders, he said.
While there was no claim of responsibility for the bombings, the U.S. military said it suspects al-Qaeda in Iraq carried out both attacks. U.S. military officials say the group has lost influence and strength in Baghdad in recent months, but they have blamed its members for a string of recent deadly attacks, many targeting Iraqi security forces. "The appalling use of a teenager as the suicide bomber shows how monstrous al-Qaeda in Iraq truly is," said Lt. Col. Steven Stover, a military spokesman.
On Wednesday, a car bomb outside a Shiite mosque in Balad killed four worshipers and injured 15, the U.S. military said in a separate statement.