Baghdad's Green Zone hit by car bomb

[DoYouEverWonder]

Nov. 22, 2006

BAGHDAD, IRAQ — A bomb exploded in an armored car belonging to the speaker of parliament, wounding the American security guard who was driving it out of a parking area in the government Green Zone and disrupting a parliamentary meeting nearby, a parliamentary aide said.

Though the speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, was not in the vehicle and was unscathed, the assassination attempt was one of the most serious breaches of security yet within the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district on the west bank of the Tigris River that houses the seat of the Iraqi government, thousands of foreign troops, private contractors and the U.S. Embassy.

The bomb had been planted inside a decoy armored car that is part of the speaker's regular convoy and resembles the one he usually uses, said the parliamentary aide.

A police official said investigators believe the bomb was planted from within the Green Zone and detonated by cell phone.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4353157.html


Seems things are going from bad to worse, if they're getting inside the Green Zone now.

[maddezmom]

1. interesting, I posted this yesterday: U.S. troops blow up cars in Baghdad

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2625064&mesg_id=2625064

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. That makes today's bombing

even more serious.

You would think they would have been on heightened alert, yet this one got through.

Second attempt in has many days is definitely not good news.

[maddezmom]

3. you have to wonder who is in charge of the bomb detection?

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

4. Well...

Anybody seen Brownie lately?

[Kagemusha]

6. I thought when I read that, it was by Sunnis, not targeted at Sunnis

as in the Sunni speaker of parliament.

Perhaps I was wrong?

[Cooley Hurd]

5. What explosives are they using now that are undetectable by the GZ guards?

This is pretty serious.:(

[Botany]

7. Inside the green zone?

[saigon68]

8. Yes FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH

[Straight Shooter]

9. A decoy armored car sounds like a serious piece of work.

Highly sophisticated operation to create a car with such a resemblance to the original that it dupes a driver into thinking he's getting into an armored car belonging to a high-level official. Don't those cars have security stickers on their windshields, some form of identification?

Inside job, IMO. At least the driver wasn't killed, and I hope he wasn't maimed irreparably.

[SnowGoose]

11. I think the decoy was official ~ not part of bombers plot

In other words, because they (the government) are worried about assassination attempts, they have several cars that look alike, so a would-be assassin does not know which one contains the targeted individual.

[Straight Shooter]

12. Thanks.

I didn't know that. Luck of the draw that the unfortunate driver picked the decoy with the bomb in it. :(

[PartTimeSatanist]

10. 5 million Baghdadis as human shields.

Green Zone uses 5 million Baghdadis as human shields. Green Zone is right smack in the center of the city. I think they know that if they put their HQ in middle of desert, or some former Iraqi military base, it would make a too easy of a target for insurgents/Iranians/radicals, you name it. A mini nuke, a checmical/biological warhead, or even conventional HE warhead (of significant size and potency) could wipe out the Zone in seconds.

But, in the end, I think they forget that these types don't give a shit. 5 million human shields or not.