On a day of Shiite religious semblance a suicide bomber as well as a twin bomb attack killed 41 Iraqi's total and wounded over 100 on Thursday.
The holiday is known as Ashoura and is celebrated every year over a period of ten days, The attack occurred in multiple cities, the deadliest of which occurred in Saadiyah during a historical reenactment of the battle of Karbala. 31 individuals were killed in the explosion.
Bombings had occurred multiple time throughout the 10 day span of the event. A bomb on Tuesday went off near refreshment tents injuring multiple travelers.
The event normally brings in over 2 million pilgrims as they march to visit many of the holy sites located across Iraq.
The event is a continuation of Sunni attacks against the current Shiite political power. Over 5,500 iraq's have been killed since April of this year, a death toll the country has not seen since 2008, and Thursdays attacks bring the November death toll to 176 individuals.
These attacks come after last weeks plea from Iraqi officials for American support and intervention. Many of the attacks are believed to be spill-over from the ongoing civil war in neighboring Syria. The ongoing issues in Iraq are largely ignored in mainstream news-media, The US Government has not announced a plan to deal with the ongoing turmoil and many believe that now is not the time to return to Iraq.
Iraq is on the cusp of an outbreak of Civil War, a major issue within the middle East.
Showing posts with label Benjamin Roberts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benjamin Roberts. Show all posts
Friday, November 15, 2013
Friday, November 01, 2013
Blog 8: The Iraqi prime minister appeals to Obama.
Iraq has slowly slipped out of the news, as the focal point of American attention was fixated on the government shutdown and the aftermath as well as the struggles and triumphs of Obamacare. During the month of October Iraq has had it's deadliest month since 2008, with over 1000 of it's citizens attacked and killed. On Thursday October 31st, Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, spoke in Washington and was scheduled to meet with the president late Friday afternoon.
Maliki spoke of the increasing death's and violence, all of which he tied back to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda whom were described as common enemies to both the US and Iraq.
Maliki stated,“Imagine how Americans would react if you had a terrorist organization operating on your own soil that killed dozens and maimed hundreds every week,” he wrote. “For Iraqis, that isn’t a hypothetical question.”
Maliki stated that he had officially put in a request for American assistance.
Many US officials have stated that the attacks are not coming from Al-Qaeda sources, but from spillover of the current conflict in Syria. They also blame Maliki for his overly autocratic leadership and recent dealings with Iran.
It will be interesting to see how congress, as well as President Obama, react to Maliki's formal request of United States intervention into Iraq's exponentially budding civil conflict. The idea of future involvement does not seem like it will be a favorable one, as the Nation only recently pulled all of it's troops from Iraq. Though it may seem like the US has a responsibility to uphold the safety of human lives, and to help Iraq after stirring up turmoil in the state early in the decade.
Maliki spoke of the increasing death's and violence, all of which he tied back to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda whom were described as common enemies to both the US and Iraq.
Maliki stated,“Imagine how Americans would react if you had a terrorist organization operating on your own soil that killed dozens and maimed hundreds every week,” he wrote. “For Iraqis, that isn’t a hypothetical question.”
Maliki stated that he had officially put in a request for American assistance.
Many US officials have stated that the attacks are not coming from Al-Qaeda sources, but from spillover of the current conflict in Syria. They also blame Maliki for his overly autocratic leadership and recent dealings with Iran.
It will be interesting to see how congress, as well as President Obama, react to Maliki's formal request of United States intervention into Iraq's exponentially budding civil conflict. The idea of future involvement does not seem like it will be a favorable one, as the Nation only recently pulled all of it's troops from Iraq. Though it may seem like the US has a responsibility to uphold the safety of human lives, and to help Iraq after stirring up turmoil in the state early in the decade.
Friday, October 04, 2013
Iraq Sectarian Conflict Threatens Nation with Civil War.
More than a dozen car bombs went off in Shi'ite neighbors across rural Iraqi districts of the Kurdish region. At least fifty individuals were killed and over a dozen were injured.
Violence has been steadily increasing in the Baghdad region over the past year, mainly as a Sunni response to the Shi'ite power granted after the fall of Saddam as well as reaction to American departure from the nation. The attacks of this past weekend and Monday mark the first to occur outside of the Baghdad area.
Many officials believe that the violence in neighboring Syria has begun to spill over into Iraq and that Sunni regions are operating in both nations, leading to the massive increase in Sectarian conflict. The attacks of this past weekend only solidified that theory.
Washington Analyst Stephen Wicken states that the attacks of late have been coordinated to occur over a large geographic spread, cause a greater deal of damage, and to occur more regularly.
Iraqi officials have called to put together a Shi'ite led militia group to fight off and prevent Sunni attacks and bombings.
The threat of possible civil war has been raised as conflict rises between the two groups and the violence of neighboring Syria echos across the border.
With Iraq still being in such a fragile state after American intervention are they more prone to fall into a full-scale civl war? What will American intervention in Syria mean for Iraqi and American relations if war takes off in Iraq?
Violence has been steadily increasing in the Baghdad region over the past year, mainly as a Sunni response to the Shi'ite power granted after the fall of Saddam as well as reaction to American departure from the nation. The attacks of this past weekend and Monday mark the first to occur outside of the Baghdad area.
Many officials believe that the violence in neighboring Syria has begun to spill over into Iraq and that Sunni regions are operating in both nations, leading to the massive increase in Sectarian conflict. The attacks of this past weekend only solidified that theory.
Washington Analyst Stephen Wicken states that the attacks of late have been coordinated to occur over a large geographic spread, cause a greater deal of damage, and to occur more regularly.
Iraqi officials have called to put together a Shi'ite led militia group to fight off and prevent Sunni attacks and bombings.
The threat of possible civil war has been raised as conflict rises between the two groups and the violence of neighboring Syria echos across the border.
With Iraq still being in such a fragile state after American intervention are they more prone to fall into a full-scale civl war? What will American intervention in Syria mean for Iraqi and American relations if war takes off in Iraq?
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