Bolanle Akanji
Moderator
At least 16 people were
killed and 41 wounded on Monday in a suicide
bomb attack on a crowded cafe in Balad, 80 km
(50 miles) north of Baghdad, part of the worst
wave of violence in Iraq in around five years.
Two roadside bombs - one planted near a
playground and another near a school - also killed
six people and wounded dozens, some of them
children, in the town of Muqdadiya, 80 km
northeast of the capital.
Those blasts underlined a shift in tactics by
suspected Islamist militants, who are increasingly
targeting not only military checkpoints and
marketplaces, but also cafes and recreational
areas used by families and children.
The latest bloodshed came as al Qaeda claimed
responsibility for weekend bombings across Iraq
which killed dozens of people during Eid al-Fitr,
the festive end to the Muslim fasting month of
Ramadan, heightening fears of even wider
sectarian slaughter.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),
formed earlier this year through a merger of al
Qaeda's affiliates in Syria and Iraq, said on jihadist
forums it was behind the attacks across Baghdad
and southern provinces on Saturday.
It also warned the government to stop arresting
suspected militants or face more violence.
"The Islamic State deployed some of its security
efforts in Baghdad and the southern province and
other places to deliver a quick message," ISIL
said, according to the SITE Monitoring group,
which tracks jihadist websites.
Bombs ripped through markets, shopping streets
and parks late on Saturday as Iraqi families were
out celebrating Eid. Nearly 80 people were killed
and scores wounded, police and medical sources
said.
DEADLY RAMADAN
It has been one of the deadliest Ramadan
holidays in years in Iraq, where Sunni Islamist
militants are waging an insurgency against the
Shi'ite-led government.
July had the highest monthly death toll from
attacks since 2008, with more than 1,000 Iraqis
killed, according to United Nations statistics.
The renewed violence prompted a statement from
Washington condemning the attacks and offering
to work closely with Baghdad to confront al Qaeda
and other groups.
The worst single incident on Monday occurred in
Balad, where mayor Maliki Laftah told Reuters
that all of the casualties were civilians.
In a separate attack near the city of Mosul, 390
km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, gunmen
intercepted a car carrying three soldiers who
were on their way to join their unit and shot them
dead, police said.
It was not immediately clear who was behind
Monday's violence, although suspicion is likely to
fall on ISIL.
The group, which has also claimed responsibility
for jail breaks in Iraq last month in which
hundreds of convicts escaped, said a government
campaign to arrest suspects and ramp up
security in the capital had only made things
worse.
"They will pay a high price for what they did, and
they will not be secure day or night during Eid or
other times," the ISIL statement said, according
to the SITE translation.
"They should watch their footsteps and stop the
detention campaigns and cease harming the
Sunni clans, and ... expect more of what will
harm them and what will bring them to their
senses."
The Interior Ministry, which said last month it was
facing an "open war", said on Sunday that media
reports about the attacks had been exaggerated
and that its recent security crackdown had been
effective.
killed and 41 wounded on Monday in a suicide
bomb attack on a crowded cafe in Balad, 80 km
(50 miles) north of Baghdad, part of the worst
wave of violence in Iraq in around five years.
Two roadside bombs - one planted near a
playground and another near a school - also killed
six people and wounded dozens, some of them
children, in the town of Muqdadiya, 80 km
northeast of the capital.
Those blasts underlined a shift in tactics by
suspected Islamist militants, who are increasingly
targeting not only military checkpoints and
marketplaces, but also cafes and recreational
areas used by families and children.
The latest bloodshed came as al Qaeda claimed
responsibility for weekend bombings across Iraq
which killed dozens of people during Eid al-Fitr,
the festive end to the Muslim fasting month of
Ramadan, heightening fears of even wider
sectarian slaughter.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),
formed earlier this year through a merger of al
Qaeda's affiliates in Syria and Iraq, said on jihadist
forums it was behind the attacks across Baghdad
and southern provinces on Saturday.
It also warned the government to stop arresting
suspected militants or face more violence.
"The Islamic State deployed some of its security
efforts in Baghdad and the southern province and
other places to deliver a quick message," ISIL
said, according to the SITE Monitoring group,
which tracks jihadist websites.
Bombs ripped through markets, shopping streets
and parks late on Saturday as Iraqi families were
out celebrating Eid. Nearly 80 people were killed
and scores wounded, police and medical sources
said.
DEADLY RAMADAN
It has been one of the deadliest Ramadan
holidays in years in Iraq, where Sunni Islamist
militants are waging an insurgency against the
Shi'ite-led government.
July had the highest monthly death toll from
attacks since 2008, with more than 1,000 Iraqis
killed, according to United Nations statistics.
The renewed violence prompted a statement from
Washington condemning the attacks and offering
to work closely with Baghdad to confront al Qaeda
and other groups.
The worst single incident on Monday occurred in
Balad, where mayor Maliki Laftah told Reuters
that all of the casualties were civilians.
In a separate attack near the city of Mosul, 390
km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, gunmen
intercepted a car carrying three soldiers who
were on their way to join their unit and shot them
dead, police said.
It was not immediately clear who was behind
Monday's violence, although suspicion is likely to
fall on ISIL.
The group, which has also claimed responsibility
for jail breaks in Iraq last month in which
hundreds of convicts escaped, said a government
campaign to arrest suspects and ramp up
security in the capital had only made things
worse.
"They will pay a high price for what they did, and
they will not be secure day or night during Eid or
other times," the ISIL statement said, according
to the SITE translation.
"They should watch their footsteps and stop the
detention campaigns and cease harming the
Sunni clans, and ... expect more of what will
harm them and what will bring them to their
senses."
The Interior Ministry, which said last month it was
facing an "open war", said on Sunday that media
reports about the attacks had been exaggerated
and that its recent security crackdown had been
effective.
