Iraq Suicide Attack Toll May Be 200

[Flagg]

Medics Say Suicide Bombs Kill at Least 50 in N.Iraq
9 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Shamal Aqrawi

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers strapped with explosives blew themselves up in near-simultaneous attacks on two Kurdish parties in Iraq (news - web sites) Sunday, killing at least 50 people and wounding many more, medics and officials said.



Medical officers at one of the hospitals that received victims of the blasts in the northern city of Arbil said they had the bodies of at least 50 people killed by the bombers.


A party official said earlier that up to 200 people had been killed or hurt in the attacks on the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the main factions in Iraq's Kurdish north.


The bombers struck at about 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) as party officials received visitors at their respective headquarters for a Muslim holiday celebration.


PUK official Qubad Talabani said some people were caught in debris.


"What seems to have happened is some of the walls seem to have collapsed in a building so that many people seem to be trapped under rubble," he told CNN. "But we are unfortunately hearing around 50 people at least killed in this tragic, tragic act of terrorism."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040201/ts_nm/iraq_dc&cid=564&ncid=1478


Bring'em on

[Jacobin]

1. but but but CNN keeps saying the attacks are much fewer

since Saddam was paraded around in handcuffs!!. It must be true, cause CNN told me so.

Is this just one of them librul media stories to try to make our glorious leader look bad??????? Then the media is just a traitor.

/sarcasm


btw, I've heard a couple of folks recently actually say the gist of the above.

[DrBB]

2. Number of attacks IS down

But the number of casualties is UP. November, December, January were consecutively "worst" months in terms of how many US soldiers killed. But there were fewer actual attacks.

I.e., the "insurgents" are getting better organized, smarter, more deadly.

[Flagg]

4. welcome back to Iraq wolfie you murderous piece of shit

watch your back
on second thoughts, don't

[saigon68]

10. "BRING EM ON", shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

and "Bring IT On", the Resistance did !!!!!

The Civil War is already on and the Chimpanzee doesn't NOTICE.


NOTE:
There is a domestic example of this phenomenon around.

2 brothers are fighting over an extra helping of potatoes.

Their mother calls the police.

The police come and the brothers stop fighting with each other.

And proceed to kick the shit out of the Cop.

[JoFerret]

29. Bring em on said the AWOL chimp

I love that phrase.
But then I am not out there in Iraq hoping against hope that what I am doing is worth the blood and toil and fear and deprivation I and my comrades are enduring.

[Jacobin]

8. Not what I have been told by a soldier on leave from Iraq

One of my son's school friend's brothers was home recently from Iraq on leave. He watched CNN for a few minutes and heard them describing this 18 to 30 attacks a day thing that CNN repeats.

He started laughing and said that there were 18 to 30 attacks a day just against HIS COMPOUND. Shook his head in disgust. He is amazed at how skewed the reporting is here about what is going on. Says its a disaster and we are losing.

But, I accept your point that they are getting better organized.

[wunnerfulrobin]

3. Attacks on US forces are down, not everyone else.

So much for the line that they just want US out. Now they just attack the easiest targets, innocent civilians. Just like their brothers-in-arms, the palestinians. And you can pretty much bet that they weren't Iraqis either, because Iraqis have never been ones to blow themselves up in the past.

[Flagg]

5. they are deadlier even on US troops

this will be your 'fearless' leader's undoing



and leave the palestians out of this one

[hang a left]

6. Yep, I will agree.

Sounds like someone is trying to intimidate the Kurds, or an assasignation plot that took out some extra people. Anyone want to take some guesses about who the perps might be?

[Holly]

7. hmm..

perhaps you should consider this is now a "civil war".

[Jacobin]

9. Maybe they are fighting to get their country back from the infidels

who invaded it?

What would you do if China invaded the U.S. "for its own good" and then occupied it?

I know what I would do. I would engage in guerilla warfare to repel the mongol invaders. It would be considered patriotic, wouldn't it?

[saigon68]

11. Absolutely correct

Those soldiers in those cammie combat uniforms look like stormtroopers.

they are sitting ducks in a gallery

[wunnerfulrobin]

16. And by repeling the invaders, attack a grocery store?

Sorry, but these attackers arent fighting to free the country from the US, they want THEIR power back. Or they wouldnt be killing their own. Which, again, leads me to believe that most are foreign fighters

[thebigidea]

17. snicker

"Which, again, leads me to believe that most are foreign fighters"

oh, you mean despite all the available evidence and stuff?

"they want THEIR power back."

pretty much, the power to not have foreign fighters from the US of A pointing guns at their heads, yeah.

[hang a left]

18. How do you know who these "foreign fighters" are?

[thebigidea]

19. he's on their mailing list, they send out a newsletter

[Jacobin]

20. They are killing the Vichy French equivalent of Iraqis

They are killing Iraqis who collaborate with the U.S. forces, just as I would do as a guerilla fighter should the mongols invade the U.S.

Am I to believe that you would collaborate with the mongols in my hypothetical and decry those who would kill the mongol collaboraters?

Your position is not tenable.

[kysrsoze]

22. This attack wasn't on US sympathizers. It's part of a power struggle

US support has traditionally been in Southern Iraq. This is part of a tribal power struggle. US sympathizer killings have been much more prevalent around Baghdad.

[kysrsoze]

21. More likely another ethnic group attacking the Kurds

No need to bring in people from the outside on this one. Kurds and the rest of Iraqis hate each other and are in a huge power struggle, as are the two Islamic factions in the country. Don't forget Iraq's borders were created by Britain in the last century - artificial boundaries.

[JoFerret]

28. Ooooh! What if a group

of democracy-loving, peace-desiring, American Constitution-admiring army of Scandinavians invaded to save us from the BFEE?

[loudnclear]

13. I don't think they are Iraqis either but so much for Iraq is better off

without Saddam. Is it better off since the US has been the occupying force?

Desparate measures fo desparate people. If the US were occupied you can bet there would be some of the same stuff going on, including suicide bombers. A desparate man with no hope for his family is capable of anything.

[thebigidea]

15. hahah! Apparnetly the propaganda is working

"So much for the line that they just want US out. Now they just attack the easiest targets, innocent civilians."

Um, they kinda do want the US out. From their point of view, they are attacking collaborators and traitors. It sends the message that "gee, maybe we shouldn't help the Americans." - surely you understand this? You're just being sarcastic, right?

"And you can pretty much bet that they weren't Iraqis either, because Iraqis have never been ones to blow themselves up in the past."

funny, isn't it. It just took the "liberation" for suicide bombing to look like a good ideas for the Iraqis.

[JoFerret]

27. "brothers in arms"??

Hmm - a bit more complicated than that my friend.

[durutti]

12. Civil war: coming soon to an Iraq near you.

n/t

[saigon68]

14. Oh YA see # 10 above

Its already started.

[darkstar]

23. At least 2 folks above appear to be wrong

in pursuing the line that these were attacks on "non-sympathizers" in "grocery stores."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

From updated Yahoo story:


IRBIL, Iraq - Two suicide bombers struck *****the offices of both U.S.-backed Kurdish parties***** in near-simultaneous attacks Sunday as hundreds of Iraqis gathered to celebrate a Muslim holiday. At least 56 people were killed and more than 235 were wounded, officials said.

(emphasis added)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20040201/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry. I'm usually not so pissy. But please note, even w/ linked source, I am at least qualifying my remarks by saying "appear to be wrong" rather than simply taking the press corps' early word on it, or worse, relying on unsubstantiated opinion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Jacobin. Nice to cross paths. Sorry on such grim topic. Ring if passing through again....

[louis-t]

24. Amazing stuff happening there, including...

resurgence of Communist Party (I didn't even know Iraq had one). Saddam would not tolerate them and forced them into hiding (strange, since Osama called Saddam 'the communist'). It's been obvious since day one that bushie doesn't have a clue to the complexity of the middle east. Doesn't care. So much for any semblance of compassion.

[dixielib]

25. Any ideas yet about who did this?

This development really worries me. It just doesn't make sense unless it is targeting the Kurds for cooperating with US.

[daleo]

26. It makes you wonder

Both of the main Kurdish parties attacked at the same time. Not long ago, the U.S. gave a bit of a nudge nudge to Turkey about fighting Kurdish separatists in Northern Iraq, and also confirmed its policy of maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity. So, what is going on?

[lazarus]

30. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=341537