Twin Bombings Kill at Least 57 in Iraq

[underpants]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/iraq

IRBIL, Iraq - Two suicide bombers struck the offices of two rival Kurdish parties in near simultaneous attacks Sunday as hundreds of Iraqis gathered to celebrate a Muslim holiday. At least 57 people were killed and more than 235 were wounded, officials said. One Kurdish minister said the death toll could rise above 100.

The blast occurred after midnight in the desert about 112 miles southwest of Karbala after Iraqis broke into the munitions storage site, military spokesman Col. Robert Strzelecki told the Polish news agency PAP. Karbala is about 60 miles southwest of Baghdad. U.S. military officials had no information on the blast.

The dead included the governor of the region, ministers in the local administration and several senior officials, Mohammed Ihsan, the minister for human rights for the Kurdish regional government, told The Associated Press. The U.S. command in Baghdad said it had no information about the attack.

Irbil city morgue director Tawana Kareem told the AP that 57 bodies were brought to the morgue and "figures are increasing." At least 235 people were admitted to the city's three hospitals with injuries, medical sources said.

"These figures are estimates but I believe about 60 people were killed at the PUK and about 80 at the KDP. There are a tremendous number of injured," Ihsan said.

A state of emergency has been declared in the Kurdish area, and doctors have been asked to return from Eid vacation. An urgent appeal has been issued to residents to donate blood.

[Guaranteed]

1. Is this a civil war?

It sure looks like it.

On edit: By the way, that is unbelievably fucked up.

[Chrysophylax]

2. Foreign Terrorists behind.

I wouldn't wonder if they state that Osama Bin-Laden's Terrorist-Network is behind this attack.

This could be the start of a civil war, according the laws of blood-feud the kurds will do revenge and kill some Sunnies or Turkmens (whoever they think are behind those attacks).

[underpants]

3. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[Holly]

4. And the civil war begins

as predicted. What a fucking mess.

[mike1963]

5. Huh? Suicide bombers were breaking in? I don't get that...

Seems more likely they were trying to steal munitions and something blew up...
:eyes:

[Jacobin]

6. And so it begins

With 130,000 american boys and girls stuck in bunkers right in the middle of it.

I believe that mister Bush* can now correctly state that the U.S. no longer occupies Iraq. We are just holed up in their country, fleeing from one bunker to the next while the Iraqis go about the work of settling decades old scores amongst themselves.

Scene II:

Bloodbath

[GoBlue]

7. you're mixing two different stories

When you <snip>, you should note it. The more deadly attack attack occurred in Irbil in NW Iraq. The munitions depot attach occurred SW of Karbala.

[spinbaby]

8. State of emergency declared

Our local news just said a "state of emergency" had been declared in northern Iraq. No idea what that means but I suspect it involves another "offensive."

[Jacobin]

9. Yep. Their gonna go find those suicide bombers that blew themselves

up. They're gonna smoke em out and bring them to justice.

Oops. I forgot. They're already dead.

[wabeewoman]

10. This was in the thread that was locked and I thought

it was an interesting thought. I wondered too why no one was mentioning Turkey when they have the most to lose over the Kurds keeping/gaining power.


daleo (336 posts) Sun Feb-01-04 07:16 PM
Response to Original message

26. It makes you wonder


Both of the main Kurdish parties attacked at the same time. Not long ago, the U.S. gave a bit of a nudge nudge to Turkey about fighting Kurdish separatists in Northern Iraq, and also confirmed its policy of maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity. So, what is going on?

The Just Society is the kind of society freedom would establish. (Pierre Trudeau)