Suicide Bombings in Baghdad Puncture Newfound Hope
- 6 years ago
Suicide Bombings in Baghdad Puncture Newfound Hope
15, 2018
BAGHDAD — Two suicide bombers killed more than two dozen people in Baghdad on Monday, mostly street vendors
and day laborers gathered at dawn in hopes of finding work at an open-air market, in the first major attack in the Iraqi capital since the government declared victory over the Islamic State.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings,
but officials in charge of security in the capital immediately cast suspicion on Islamic State sleeper cells, the target of Iraq’s intelligence and counterterrorism forces since major military operations ended in the fall.
Since counterterrorism operations were ramped up in 2015, Iraqi security forces have established a tight
security cordon around Baghdad in an attempt to keep insurgents and violence from infiltrating the city.
The carnage in Tayaran Square punctured a growing sense of hope and pride
that had permeated Baghdad after Iraq’s security forces, bolstered by large numbers of volunteers and fresh recruits, successfully fought grueling battles against the insurgent group that had held one-third of Iraqi territory and terrorized millions of citizens.
The first assailant detonated his explosives around 6 a.m., as the sun was rising
and as day laborers, shopkeepers and street vendors were starting to gather for work, according to Maj. Muhammad Mudhir, a traffic police officer who witnessed the attack.
On Jan. 13, an insurgent detonated an explosive vest near a convoy carrying the
head of Baghdad’s provincial government, wounding four Iraqi security forces.
15, 2018
BAGHDAD — Two suicide bombers killed more than two dozen people in Baghdad on Monday, mostly street vendors
and day laborers gathered at dawn in hopes of finding work at an open-air market, in the first major attack in the Iraqi capital since the government declared victory over the Islamic State.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings,
but officials in charge of security in the capital immediately cast suspicion on Islamic State sleeper cells, the target of Iraq’s intelligence and counterterrorism forces since major military operations ended in the fall.
Since counterterrorism operations were ramped up in 2015, Iraqi security forces have established a tight
security cordon around Baghdad in an attempt to keep insurgents and violence from infiltrating the city.
The carnage in Tayaran Square punctured a growing sense of hope and pride
that had permeated Baghdad after Iraq’s security forces, bolstered by large numbers of volunteers and fresh recruits, successfully fought grueling battles against the insurgent group that had held one-third of Iraqi territory and terrorized millions of citizens.
The first assailant detonated his explosives around 6 a.m., as the sun was rising
and as day laborers, shopkeepers and street vendors were starting to gather for work, according to Maj. Muhammad Mudhir, a traffic police officer who witnessed the attack.
On Jan. 13, an insurgent detonated an explosive vest near a convoy carrying the
head of Baghdad’s provincial government, wounding four Iraqi security forces.