Global General
Wave of coordinated attacks in Iraq kills 127
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-09 06:53
Al-Maliki drew a direct connection between the attacks and the political compromises that cleared the way for elections.
"The timing of the cowardly terrorist attacks ... shows that the enemies of Iraq aim to create chaos in the country and foil the political process and the elections," said a statement from the US-backed prime minister.
Iraq's military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, blamed the "same hands" the government claims were behind the August and October attacks: Baath loyalists and al-Qaida-linked extremists.
In Washington, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs condemned the attacks, saying Iraqi leaders who passed an elections law this week were moving the country in the right direction and "there are clearly those who are threatened by that."
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In a joint statement, US Ambassador Christopher Hill and Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, pledged to assist the Iraqi government "to bring to justice those individuals or groups for such murder."
Other statements decrying the attacks poured in from around the world.
One stood out: Neighboring Syria said it "strongly condemns the terrorist bombings." Iraq's relations with Syria have soured recently after accusations by Baghdad that the Damascus government harbors Baath Party exiles who have masterminded and waged attacks in Iraq.
The bombings marked the most serious spate of violence in Baghdad since twin car bombs on Oct. 25 struck outside Baghdad administration offices, killing at least 155. In August, four suicide truck bombers hit the finance and foreign ministries, killing more than 100.
On a Web site known to express militant views, messages exchanged congratulations for the attacks and praised insurgents linked to al-Qaida in Iraq -- with no mention of Baath Party alliances.
The first attack came at midmorning in southern Baghdad. A suicide car bomber struck a police patrol in the mostly Sunni district of Dora. At least three policemen and 12 civilians were killed, said a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
About an hour later, four blasts roared through different parts of Baghdad in less than 10 minutes, bringing the overall death toll to at least 127, according to police and hospital officials.
"What crime have we committed? Children and women were buried under debris. Why did they (Iraqi troops) let this car bomb pass?" cried Ahmed Jabbar as he staggered through the debris near the new Finance Ministry building alongside the Tigris River -- an area where all cars pass through checkpoints manned by Iraqi forces.
Police say the bomber, driving an ambulance rigged with explosives, was stopped at the last checkpoint before the Finance Ministry. Its previous headquarters was destroyed in the August attacks.
The blast ravaged an outdoor market and collapsed rows of brick walls in stores and homes. The ministry was largely unscathed, but a corner was peppered with metal chunks from the exploding vehicle.
At one home, a ginger-colored dog stood with a chain still around its neck, stranded atop a section of wall above the wreckage that killed its owners and their children. The dog's water bucket was beside him.
About two miles (three kilometers) to the west, another suicide bomber rammed through one checkpoint near a judicial compound that included the main Appeals Court, said the spokesman of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar. Guards opened fire before a huge blast that leveled the court and left dozens of cars crushed and shredded.
Near the protected Green Zone in central Baghdad, which includes the US Embassy and Iraqi parliament, a third suicide bomb struck close to an area with government offices including the Labor Ministry.
Finally, a roadside bomb exploded near the Technology University in eastern Baghdad, missing a passing police patrol but killing one civilian passer-by and wounding four others, police said.
