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| Iraq |
| Blasts at Iraq police station, school kill 15 |
| 2013-10-07 |
| Two suicide bombers detonated explosives-rigged vehicles at a police station and a nearby primary school in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing 15 people including children, a local official said. The blasts in the Turkmen village of Qabat, near the Syrian border, also wounded 44 people, Abdulal Abbas said. The dead were five police and 10 children, Abbas said, adding that the bombing at the school collapsed the roof of the building. The blasts came a day after violence including an attack on pilgrims in Baghdad and a suicide bombing at a cafe north of the capital killed at least 73 people. Two journalists from the Sharqiya television channel were also gunned down in the northern city of Mosul on Saturday. Violence worsened sharply after security forces stormed an anti-government protest camp in northern Iraq on April 23, sparking clashes in which dozens of people were killed. The authorities have made some concessions aimed at placating anti-government protesters, such as freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of anti-Al Qaeda fighters, but underlying issues have yet to be addressed. And while security forces have carried out wide-ranging operations against militants for more than two months, they have yet to succeed in curbing the wave of attacks plaguing Iraq. The latest violence takes this monthÂ’s death toll to more than 150, and more than 4,850 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources. In addition to major security problems, the government has failed to provide adequate basic services such as electricity and clean water, and corruption is widespread. Political squabbling has paralysed the government, while parliament has passed almost no major legislation in years. |
| Posted by:Steve White |