Deadly end to Muslim holy month
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Militants targeted police recruits and shoppers rounding up last-minute sweets and delicacies Sunday for a feast to mark the end of the Ramadan holy month, the highlight of the Muslim year. At least 44 Iraqis were reported killed across the country.
The U.S. military announced the deaths of a Marine and four soldiers.
Three soldiers were killed Sunday, two by small arms fire west of the capital and one by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad, the military said. On Saturday, a Marine was killed during combat in restive Anbar province and another soldier died in fighting in Salahuddin province.
“There will be no holiday in Iraq,” said Abu Marwa, a 46-year-old Sunni Muslim father of three who owns a mobile phone shop in the capital. “Anyone who says otherwise is a liar.”
In Sunday’s bloodiest attack, gunmen in five sedans ambushed a convoy of buses carrying police recruits near the city of Baqouba 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 15 and wounding 25 others, said provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan al-Bawi. The recruits were returning home after an induction ceremony at a police base south of Baqouba.
A series of bombs also ripped through a Baghdad market and bakery packed with holiday shoppers, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens, police said. The attack came a day after a bicycle-bomb and mortar attack on an outdoor market killed 19 and wounded scores in Mahmoudiyah, just south of the capital.
The Iraqi Islamic Party issued a statement blaming Shiite militiamen for the attack in Mahmoudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The Bush administration has been wrestling to find new tactics to contain the bloodshed ahead of the U.S. midterm elections as lawmakers from both parties expressed wavering confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s ability to come to grips with the rising bloodshed.
Bush stood firm in his support for al-Maliki, saying he “has got what it takes to lead a unity government.”
The Bush administration took issue with reports Sunday that said U.S. officials were working on a plan that would outline milestones for disarming militias and meeting other political and economic goals. The reports said the blueprint, to be presented to al-Maliki by the end of this year, would not threaten Iraq with a withdrawal of U.S. troops. The White House said the article was not accurate, and the administration was constantly developing new tactics to help the Iraqi government sustain and defend itself and govern.
In all Sunday, at least 44 Iraqis were killed or their bodies were founded dumped along roads or in the Tigris River. The timing and targets revealed a disregard for the sanctity and meaning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which is to Muslims what Christmas is to Christians.
“Things are getting worse every day in Baghdad,” said Abu Marwa, the Baghdad storekeeper. “So, it’s logical that today will be better than tomorrow. That’s why I have no plans for the holiday.”