Bombers hit Iraq city touted for calm

BAGHDAD – Suicide bombers struck twice in Ramadi on Monday, killing at least 25 people and undercutting U.S. efforts to portray the western city as a bright spot in the fight against al-Qaida-led insurgents.

In another setback to a U.S.-led security plan now in its third month, the bodies of 30 men were found strewn across Baghdad, apparent victims of sectarian death squads whose activities had appeared to ebb in the initial weeks of the sweep. They brought to 151 the number of unidentified corpses found in the capital in the past seven days, compared with 125 the previous seven days and 105 the week before.

Since the Feb. 13 start of the security plan, which has put tens of thousands more U.S. and Iraqi troops on the streets, U.S. officials have sought to counter the continuous car bombs and mortar attacks with evidence of progress. The relative calm in Ramadi, a longtime stronghold of Sunni Muslim insurgents linked to al-Qaida, and the drop in death-squad victims have been among the few positive indicators.

Since the plan began, Sunni sheiks in Ramadi, the capital of Al Anbar province, have been vocal in their opposition to the insurgents they once harbored, angered by attacks on civilians. U.S. officials say this has enabled American forces to tame much of the once-seething city and recruit thousands of officers for the provincial police force.

On Monday, though, two sedans loaded with explosives blew up about a mile apart from one another in Ramadi, shattering an outdoor market, a security force checkpoint and whatever sense of security residents might have had.

The first blast occurred about 1 p.m. at the crowded checkpoint. The next one went off minutes later at the market.

A hospital official in Ramadi said the death toll from the two bombings provided by police was likely to rise because many of the 40 people being treated for injuries were in serious condition. It was unclear how many people died in each attack, but at least five of the victims were police.