A series of deadly attacks in Baghdad killed at least 103 people
and injured more that 240 on Tuesday, casting shadows on security
operation between the Iraqi government and US forces to curb
violence.
Two car bombs and a suicide bomber killed 65 people and
wounded132 near a university in eastern Baghdad, a well-informed
Interior Ministry official told Xinhua.
The blasts occurred at around 4:00 PM (13:00 GMT) while many
students and employees in Al-Mustansriyah University, who finished
their courses and work, were waiting at an entrance for minibuses
and cars to take them home, the official said on condition of
anonymity.
Two explosive-laden cars went off in short succession, killing
dozens of people. While many scared people were fleeing the scene,
a suicide bomber blew himself up, causing heavy casualties, the
official added.
Meanwhile, gunmen in a minivan and on two motorcycles sprayed
shoppers at a market in eastern Baghdad with automatic gunfire,
killing 15 people and injuring 20, a police source told Xinhua.
Early in the morning, a roadside bomb went off near a police
patrol in central Baghdad, leaving four people dead and 10 others
wounded.
At around midday, twin blasts near a Sunni mosque in Bab
al-Sheikh neighborhood in central Baghdad killed 15 people and
injured 70 others.
Two hours later, a bomb-rigged minibus went off in Sadr City in
eastern Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 10 others.
The attacks coincided with a report released by the United
Nations that more than 34,000 Iraqis were killed in violence last
year.
"The situation is particularly grave in Baghdad, where most
casualties and unidentified bodies that are daily recorded also
bear signs of torture," Gianni Magazzeni, the UN human rights chief
in Iraq, told reporters on Tuesday.
Magazzeni said the UN figures were compiled from information
obtained from the Iraqi Health Ministry, operation centers at
hospitals across the country and other agencies.
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He rapped the Iraqi government for failing to curb violence and
blamed some militias, active inside police and army, for killings
and sectarian attacks.
"Without significant progress in the rule of law, sectarian
violence will continue indefinitely and eventually spiral out of
control," Magazzeni warned.
The latest carnage came days before Iraqi authorities and US
forces are going to carry out a new security plan in Baghdad to
crack down on illegal militants from all sectors.
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US President George W. Bush also pledged to send additional 21,500
soldiers to Iraq, most of them to Baghdad. However, many doubt if
it will work.
(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2007)
