Twin suicide attack kills 12 in northern Iraq

[News_Editor]

Twin suicide attack kills 12 in northern Iraq

2012-03-08 21:31:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSUL, Iraq (BNO NEWS) -- Twelve people were killed on Wednesday when two suicide bombers carried out an attack in northern Iraq, police said on Thursday. Several others were injured.

The attack began when a car bomb exploded near a restaurant in Tel Afar in the Ninawa Governorate, located west of Mosul and not far from the Syrian border. The explosion was followed a few minutes later by a suicide bomber who blew himself up in the middle of a crowd.

According to police sources, at least twelve people were killed while more than a dozen others were injured.

Meanwhile, also on Wednesday, three people were killed in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad when two car bombs exploded. At least nine others were reported injured as well.

The attacks come just two days after suspected members of al-Qaeda opened fire early Monday morning and killed 27 policemen in Haditha, Anbar Province, located in western Iraq. The attacks occurred at around 2 a.m. local time when the assailants, who were wearing military uniforms, attacked several security posts and raided at least two homes belonging to security officers.

Political turmoil and sectarian violence has been on the rise following the pullout of the last U.S. soldiers in mid-December. On December 22, a wave of at least a dozen bomb attacks, involving numerous car bombs, roadside bombs and IEDs, were reported in several parts of Baghdad, killing at least 60 people and injuring nearly 200 others.

The attacks in December came just days after the last U.S. soldiers withdrew from the country, ending its nearly nine-year-long presence in the country. Analysts have feared a surge in political turmoil and sectarian violence following the departure of the last U.S. troops.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-03-08

[Scott]

A racist post has been removed.

[Colin Yai]

Unfortunately It would appear that this sort of tragedy is happening on a regular basis , sectarian violence between the respective two Islamic sects is nothing new and has been going on now for century's ,will there ever be an end to this indiscriminate slaughter?, I doubt it due to complete intransigence from both sides ,If the various Islamic sects cannot live at peace with one another then the idea that one day the Jews and Muslims can live at peace with one another is just a pipe dream ,so sad so sad.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Colin Yai

[Scott]

Northern Iraq is part of the Kurdish homeland. The area around Mosul was 'Arabized' under Saddam Hussein and many of the Kurds were moved out of the area. The area, however, is still predominantly Kurdish. Religion is not a primary consideration to most of the Kurds. The Issue of autonomy and Kurdish identity is much stronger. Most of the Kurds are Sunni Muslim with a small portion in the area being Shiite. There are also Christian Kurds.

The Kurds have been divided politically between two large factions (which are linguistically different), The KDP and the PUK. The violence could be from a host of reasons, but I would put my money on it being political--either between the Kurdish factions or between Kurds and Arabs. Religiously motivated violence is much less common in that area, but not unheard of.

[Colin Yai]

Northern Iraq is part of the Kurdish homeland. The area around Mosul was 'Arabized' under Saddam Hussein and many of the Kurds were moved out of the area. The area, however, is still predominantly Kurdish. Religion is not a primary consideration to most of the Kurds. The Issue of autonomy and Kurdish identity is much stronger. Most of the Kurds are Sunni Muslim with a small portion in the area being Shiite. There are also Christian Kurds.

The Kurds have been divided politically between two large factions (which are linguistically different), The KDP and the PUK. The violence could be from a host of reasons, but I would put my money on it being political--either between the Kurdish factions or between Kurds and Arabs. Religiously motivated violence is much less common in that area, but not unheard of.

Hi Scott, I was mainly referring to the latter part of the thread regarding Baghdad and The sectarian bombings resulting in 60 or so deaths and over 200 injuries in a matter of a day or two,Which is still an ongoing problem as the "Analysts " predicted.