A run of coordinated attacks that spanned the length of the country killed at least 56 people today in assaults aimed at Iraqi army and police forces, one day after the U.S. announced that its combat troops had fallen below 50,000.
To kick things off, a pickup truck full of explosives was detonated in the Qahira neighborhood of Baghdad behind a police station. The building imploded and nearby homes were shaken to pieces according to various media reports. 15 people were killed including six policemen, and 58 were left bruised and broken.
Three other explosions in the capital killed at least five other people.
The southern city of Kut was hit the hardest. According to reports, a suicide bomber exploded his car close to a police station targeting officers, Of the 19 people that were killed, 15 of them were policemen.
An account by Reuters reported the blast killed 26 policemen and injured some 90 people.
Although nobody’s disputing the fact that violence is down since its peak in 2007, daily attacks in the first three weeks of August on Iraqi forces and traffic police killed more than 85 people in Baghdad and Anbar province. In August, nearly 5 Iraqi security personnel have been killed every day, on average.
In search of a silver lining? Well, at least the insurgents aren’t targeting markets full of innocent civilians. Clearly the transition is moving along swimmingly.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
