By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
RAMADI, Iraq – On October 11, a triple car bombing in Iraq killed between nineteen and twenty-six individuals, and injured over eighty. The bombings took place in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province. The attacks took place near the provincial government of Anbar. It is believed that the bombings were targeting a reconciliation meeting between Shi’ite-led government officials and the Sunni groups known as Awakening Councils.
The first bomb targeted individuals who were waiting outside of a municipal building waiting to claim money. Meanwhile, the second bomb went off after police and other emergency workers arrived on the scene. The third bomb went off close a security checkpoint on a road that led to the local hospital. Officials have reported that eighty percent of the individuals hurt by the attack were police.
The violence in Anbar province had been among the lowest in Iraq in the last two years. This was reportedly because many tribal leaders dropped their allegiance to al Qaeda in Mesopotamia (AQM). Those who dropped their allegiance to AQM joined forces with Awakening Councils that linked with the American military and the Iraqi government. The level in violence has, however, increased since American forces have ceded control of the province to Iraqi military forces.
The triple bombing allegedly targeted the reconciliation meeting between the Shi’ite and Sunni factions. The bombings failed to hit any of the individuals involved of the meeting. The goal of the gathering was create new election law. The rise in attacks and the inability of the two groups to come together on new laws increases concerns that the national elections currently scheduled for January will have to be postponed.
The concern for the election date coincides with a fear that insurgency in Anbar has regained its footing. Despite the previous lull in violence that the province had experienced, October has seen a number of attacks hit Anbar. This attack is the latest in a string of recent attacks focused on tribal leaders and members of Iraqi security forces. Overall, however, violence in the country has gone down as September experienced the lowest death toll for the country as a whole since May.
For more information, please see:
Los Angeles Times – Iraq Bombings Target Reconciliation Meeting, Killing 26 – 12 October 2009
AFP – Triple Attacks Kill 19 In Western Iraqi City – 11 October 2009
Al Jazeera – Iraq Hit By Triple Car Bombing – 11 October 2009
New York Times – Bombings Outside Iraq Reconciliation Meeting Kill 23 – 11 October 2009
