Winks Blog

At Least 16 Killed in Series of Bombings

Good afternoon,

Today, bloodshed persisted with three car bombs in Baghdad and a series of bombings and shootings across the country killing at least 16 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers on Thursday.

AP count points to downward trend
Although accurate casualty figures are not available and statistics have not been provided for violent deaths in August, an Associated Press count indicates a downward trend. Reported deaths, however, are thought to be considerably lower than the actual number of people killed.

With one week remaining in August, the estimated number of Iraqis killed around the country was at least 605, according to an AP count. That number was about 60 percent of the estimated AP total of at least 1,015 killed for all of July.

But the government’s count for July was far higher at 3,500, including 1,500 in Baghdad alone.

Political and sectarian violence across Iraq increased after a Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad. Most of the violence has been sectarian, often involving death squads from the majority Shiites or minority Sunni Arabs.

“I think there’s a large number of civilians that have been killed by various death squads. Certain militia groups have been responding in a way that’s not in connection with the national government, and that situation is clearly not one that’s good for Iraq,” Abizaid said.

He said the United States and its coalition partners wanted Iraqis to take control of security.

Have a nice day.

posted by Wink @ 4:15 PM