Iraq bomb attacks kill 15, wound scores

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

By Kareem Raheem
BAGHDAD | Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:13am EDT

(Reuters) - Bombings in and around Baghdad killed 13 people and wounded more than 50 on Thursday, the latest in a wave of sectarian attacks in Iraq, hospital sources and police said.

In the deadliest, at least eight people were killed and 30 wounded when a bomb in a parked taxi exploded at the entrance of a Baghdad market in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim district of Washash, police said.

"There were bodies scattered everywhere. Glass and vegetables covered the whole place," said police officer Ahmed Nouri, who was on patrol nearby when the bomb detonated.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/us-iraq-violence-idUSBRE85R0AO20120628

[maddezmom]

1. there seems to be an uptick in the bombings lately

[maddezmom]

5. Surge in violence spurs new fears in Iraq

BAGHDAD -- A half year after the U.S. military left Iraq, dire predictions seem to be coming true: The country is mired in violence and the government is on the verge of collapsing. With no relief in sight, there's growing talk of Iraq as a failed state as al-Qaida's local wing staged near daily attacks that killed at least 234 people in June.

Iraq no longer suffers widespread retaliatory killings between Sunni and Shiite extremists that brought the country to the brink of civil war. But the spike in violence heightens fears that Iraq could limp along for years as an unstable and dangerous country.

June was the second-deadliest month since U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in mid-December as insurgents exploited the political struggles between the country's ethnic and sectarian factions. More significant than the numbers was the fact that insurgents appeared able to sustain the level of violence over a longer period than usual. There was a major deadly bombing or shooting rampage almost every three days, many targeting Shiite pilgrims.

The violence has brought the weakness of Iraq's security apparatus into sharp focus even as deepening political divisions dim the prospects that the country will emerge as a stable democracy after decades of war and dictatorship.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/30/4601725/surge-in-violence-spurs-new-fears.html#storylink=cpy

[leveymg]

2. Does anyone else have the feeling that the entire oil-producing region is about to go boom?

And the spark is Syria.

Enjoy $3/gal. gas while it lasts.

Qui bono?

[xchrom]

3. du rec. nt

[Amonester]

4. Dumbya deserves another shoe...

No. A boot.