Terrorist Offensive Kills 106 in Iraq

A deadly onslaught of bombings and shootings killed at least 106 people in Baghdad and across Iraq, the Associated Press reported on Monday. Though no one has taken responsibility, al-Qaida in Iraq said last week that it would attempt to destabilize the country and drive the government out of power this week. More than 200 people were wounded in the coordinated terrorist attacks, the deadliest of their kind in two years.

Diplomats and international groups have condemned the attacks, which were largely aimed at Sunni populations.

Here's a closer look at the facts surrounding al-Qaida's latest offensive and the international response.

Attacks spread across the country: Neighborhoods in Baghdad, Diyala province, towns surrounding Kirkuk, and Mosul were all among the victims of the attacks, with the only Shiite-dominated town attacked being Diwaniyah. Three people were killed there, and another 25 were wounded.

In another offensive, three carloads of gunmen pulled up to an Iraqi base in Udaim and killed 13 soldiers before fleeing.

U.N. decries Ramadan attacks: The Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative, Gyorgy Busztin issued a press statement on Monday, saying that "the scale and brutality of the attacks are appalling -- especially now, when Iraqis are not only celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, with its messages of peace and reconciliation, but are also welcoming thousands of returnees who have fled the ongoing violence in Syria."

State Department says al-Qaida "going to fail": U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland took a question on the Iraq bombings during a Monday briefing, noting that the U.S. provides security support to the Iraqi government, though Iraq was responsible for its own security.

She said that al-Qaida in Iraq staged the Ramadan attack in an effort to turn Sunnis against their government, but said of the group that "they're going to fail. The Iraqis know they're going to fail. But regrettably, this is a bloody pattern that we've seen in years past, that Ramadan has been exploited for the agendas of terrorists and those who don't have the best interest of Iraq at heart."

Attacks foreshadowed in Najaf: The holy city of Najaf witnessed car bombs along with Baghdad on Sunday, Reuters reported. Those bombings killed 20 people and wounded another 80.

Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the continent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/terrorist-offensive-kills-106-iraq-213400364.html

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