Twin deadly bombings place Iraq back in the spotlight

By Rachel Oppenheimer

Last Thursday, twin suicide bombings killed at least 60 people outside Baghdad's most sacred Shiite shrine, pushing the death toll to nearly 150 in just one 24-hour period. The first suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up among a group of police officers distributing relief supplies in the Baghdad area, killing at least 28 people and wounding 50. The second “twin” suicide bomber attacked a group of Iranian pilgrims near the northeastern city of Baquba. Muhanad Harbi, a shop owner near the blast site, said he saw a woman wearing a black robe walk into the crowd – she appeared to have detonated an explosives belt. This new violence may act as a wake up call to the United States that the war in Iraq is not over.

The separate attacks – that resulted in the deadliest day of violence to strike Iraq this year – occurred just as American soldiers who specialized in clearing bombs from roads boarded a plan from Iraq to Southern Afghanistan. Last Thursday’s attacks proved particularly brutal – one involved a woman taking her child along for a suicide mission against a food distribution checkpoint. The latest in a series of high profile attacks, the bombings have raised concern of an increase in violence as the US scales back its forces in the area ahead of a planned withdrawal by the end of 2011.

The scale of the violence – blamed on Sunni insurgents – pales in comparison to past years but still undermines confidence that Iraq’s security gains remain strong as the US military shifts its focus and resources to Afghanistan. The attacks came as Iraqi security officials said they captured one of the most wanted leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgency, an arrest that could deliver a significant blow to an intensified campaign of attacks. Officials identified the man as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, supposed leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni militant factions believed to be dominated by Al Qaeda in Iraq.(Back in 2007, Iraq’s government had reported that the same man had been killed, and released photos of his supposed body.)

Experts in Iraqi politics warn that the week of Baghdad killings – combined with unresolved governance issues and heightened sectarian tensions – could or should affect Washington’s exit strategy. Iraqi official Abu Mohammed said “All the killing of Shiites is done by Al Qaeda. America was not able to finish them off. How can our forces do it?”