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Iraqi Terrorists Go North
// Suicide bombings in Iraq kill 400
More than 400 people were killed in Tuesday’s suicide bomb attacks in northern Iraq, officials said Thursday. Four suicide truck bombs blew up almost simultaneously in two Kurdish villages near the Syrian border. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Iraqi government and U.S. troops in the country believe that the slaughter was the work of al-Qaida.
Terrorists targeted the ancient religious sect Yazidis in two large villages of al-Qataniyah and al-Adnaniyah, near the city of Sinjar close to the Syrian border. Police says that explosives were packed in four lorries, one of which was a tank truck.
The attacks were well orchestrated, and the car bombs were operated by suicide bombers. The four bombs went off almost simultaneously. “My friend and I were thrown high in the air,” Khadir Shamu, 30, who was injured at the scene of a blast, told the Associated Press news agency. “I still don’t know what happened to him.” There have not been any official reports of the power of the bombs, but unofficial sources estimate it to be hundreds of kilo of TNT.
The blasts destroyed more than 70 houses in the area, according to local officials. “The casualties are still arriving to nearby hospitals,” Dakhil Qassim, the Sinjar mayor, said. “Local clinics are struggling to deal with the wounded. Rescuers continue to search for survivors, so the casualties are expected to rise as many victims are still trapped under the debris.”
No Iraqi extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But Iraqi authorities and U.S. command in Baghdad blamed the carnage on al-Qaida. U.S. Brigadier General Kevin Bergner said such attacks are designed to “undermine the sense of progress” that U.S. and Iraqi forces are creating.
The general was referring to America’s new strategy and troop surge in Iraq. An operation which was launched six months ago involves aircrafts and more than 100,000 servicemen. Experts believe, however, that the only thing that the operation has achieved is that a large number of military men in Baghdad has made it a more dangerous place. Terrorists avoid the strict security measures in the capital and surrounding areas and choose easy targets in places without thousands of American soldiers such as Kurdish villages.
Viktor Kozhbakhteev
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 17, 2007
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