SUICIDE BOMBS KILL 48 IN IRAQ…..THEY MUST HAVE MISSED THOSE “HEARTS AND MINDS”
By MARGARET COKER
Two suicide attacks targeting Sunni militia members loyal to the Iraqi government killed at least 48 people Sunday, increasing concerns about a rise in what appears to be tit-for-tat sectarian violence as the U.S. draws down its forces and Iraqi politicians struggle to form a new government.
At least 39 government-backed Sunni militiamen were killed by a suicide bomber on the outskirts of Baghdad. Video Courtesy of Reuters.
The day’s deadliest explosion tore through ranks of Sunni men who had gathered early in the morning to receive their government paychecks in the town of Radwaniya outside Baghdad, according to an Iraqi security official. The bomb killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 50, authorities said.
A second suicide bomber targeted the office of what is called the Sahwa militia in the town of Al-Qaim, close to the Syrian border. Security officials said the blast killed at least three members of the force, recognized for helping U.S. forces in the fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The bloodshed comes in the wake of heavy violence in the capital last week. At least 75 people died in multiple suicide attacks targeting Shiite pilgrims commemorating the death of a revered religious figure.
The sectarian nature of the recent violence comes amid a prolonged political stalemate that emerged after March parliamentary elections ended without either of the country’s two largest political blocs winning enough seats to form a new government alone.
Ayad Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc, favored by the country’s minority Sunnis and many secular citizens, narrowly beat Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law alliance, which is made up of mainly Shiite supporters. Since the polls, Mr. Maliki has banded together with other Shiite parties in hopes of forming a coalition government that controls a majority of seats in parliament.
Reuters An Iraqi soldier inspects the scene of a suicide attack in Radwaniya, one of two bombings on Sunday that targeted Sunni militia, killing at least 48.
Sunnis fear that the move is intended to block them from political power. In 2005, a Sunni boycott of the country’s first national polls since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was widely seen as a precursor to the bloody sectarian fighting that almost descended into civil war.
In 2006, the Sahwa militias, now called Sons of Iraq, stopped cooperating with Al Qaeda fighters and joined with U.S. and Iraqi government forces to battle the terror group. These Sahwa militia members constituted the majority of those killed in Sunday’s suicide bombing near Baghdad, according to Iraqi security officials.
Iraqi media reported that government soldiers also were among the dead. The morning attack was the deadliest to target Iraq’s security forces since May.
It is unclear how the week of violence will affect the pace or tone of the prolonged political negotiations over forming a new government. Mr. Allawi’s allies have had tentative meetings in recent weeks with Mr. Maliki’s supporters, yet long-standing animosity between the two leaders has called into question their willingness to form a coalition together.
The violence also comes as U.S. combat troops continue to withdraw from the country. Washington is reducing troop strength to just 50,000 by the end of August.
In a press conference last week, the top American commander in Iraq said that the drawdown was progressing as planned and that the recent violence and political uncertainty weren’t affecting the withdrawal time table.
Write to Margaret Coker at margaret.coker@wsj.com
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