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Mortars, bombs kill 18 Iraqis at market

An Iraqi soldier on Saturday jumps over cars that were burned outside a police station Friday in Amarah during fighting that killed at least 25. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Christopher Bodeen Associated Press
An Iraqi soldier on Saturday jumps over cars that were burned outside a police station Friday in Amarah during fighting that killed at least 25. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Five bicycle bombs and a hail of mortar shells ripped apart a market south of Baghdad on Saturday, killing 18 people in yet another sign that Iraq’s government and U.S. forces were struggling to contain sectarian violence. Three U.S. Marines also were killed, making October the deadliest month for American forces this year.

U.S. officials have blamed the skyrocketing violence on the holy month of Ramadan, which ends today for Sunni Muslims, as well as the increased vulnerability of American forces during a major two-month security sweep in Baghdad and the approaching U.S. midterm election.

At least 44 Iraqis were killed or found dead Saturday, keeping the month on pace to be the deadliest for Iraqis since April 2005, when the Associated Press began tracking the deaths. So far this month, at least 907 Iraqis have been killed in war-related violence, an average of 43 a day.

That compares with an average daily death toll of about 27 since April 2005. The AP count includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces, and is considered a minimum based on AP reporting. The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported.

The United Nations has said at least 100 Iraqis are now killed daily.

The deaths of the Marines raised the October death toll for American troops to 78, surpassing the year’s previous high figure of 76 in April. October is on course to be the deadliest month for American service members in two years.

Despite the grim statistics, a British government minister said Saturday he expects Iraqis to take over much of the work being done by coalition troops within a year.

“The Iraqi army is coming along very well,” Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. “I would be very surprised if there was not that kind of capacity taking on a lot of the work done by the coalition forces.”

The brutal market attack occurred in the town of Mahmoudiyah shortly before Muslims began to prepare iftar, their evening meal to break the day’s Ramadan fast. A dozen mortars rained down on the market soon after the bombs hidden in plastic bags left on bicycles exploded, said police Lt. Hayder Satar.