Baghdad – Four car bombs, one of them a suicide car bomb, and 11 roadside bombs, shook Baghdad Thursday morning, killing at least 63 and wounding 185 people, adding new tension during a growing national political crisis. The explosions occurred in a variety of locations around the Iraqi capital, some Shiite and others Sunni, giving no clear indication who was behind it. The casualties were believed to be almost entirely civilians.
Kamil al Zaidi, the head of the Baghdad provincial council, noted that the explosions did not occur in strategic locations — one was close to a hospital and another close to a school, with the suicide car bomb exploding in a small street off a main thoroughfare. “This could happen anywhere in the world — that someone places a shopping bag containing an explosive device next to a wall or a building,” he said. “It is not something that reflects negatively on the capabilities of the security forces.” But he said there were some weaknesses in the security system, and they will be strengthened “to prevent this scenario from repeating itself.”
Politicians and citizens alike linked the bombings to the current political crisis, centering charges against Sunni Vice President Tareq al Hashemi that members of his security detail have carried out assassinations against senior Shiite military personnel. Iraqi television reported today that Kurdish officials are refusing to honor the arrest warrant against Hashemi.
© 2011 McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
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