Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A string of attacks throughout Iraq on February 22 left over twenty people dead, including nine children. The attacks came in a series of bombings, shootings and beheadings. The attacks include rockets exploding in the Green Zone (Baghdad’s heavily fortified neighborhood), car bombings near government buildings, and killings of security officers and government. Iraqi officials have reportedly been able to detect a discernible pattern to the violence.
Among the attacks were the killings of two families in their homes in Baghdad. With respect to one of the families, gunmen killed entire family, who were reportedly Shi’ite Muslims living in an area outside of the Baghdad that is majority Sunni. Neighbors found the six children and their parents dead in their home in the rural town of Wehda, a town that witnessed some of the first sectarian violence in 2005.
A Baghdad security spokesman confirmed the incident in a statement, saying “unknown gunmen killed eight members of the same family with silencers, and then cut the heads off some of the bodies. The spokesman confirmed that four arrests had been made in connection with the killings. The beheading of civilians has traditionally been associated with Sunni extremists linked to al-Qaeda.
Another attack came where a suicide bomber attacked a government building in Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province. The attack killed five people. Anbar was previously an insurgent stronghold. The bombing was the latest in a string that have raised fears that Al Qaeda is attempting to regain control of the area.
Among the other attacks on February 22 was a car bombing that exploded outside the Internal Affairs Ministry in Baghad. The bombing killed two Iraqi policemen and three civilians. Another attack came when a sniper shot a policeman who was manning a checkpoint. A street cleaner, university professor, businessman, four policemen and two soldiers were also shot and killed in separate attacks in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk.
There was no immediate suggestion by Iraqi officials that the attacks are related the coming national election. However, the level of violence in the country has escalated as election day nears.
For more information, please see:
Los Angeles Times – 26 People Killed in Brutal Attacks Across Iraq – 23 February 2010
AFP – Eight Family Members Brutally Killed in Iraq – 22 February 2010
BBC – Iraq Gunmen ‘Behead Shia Family in’ Baghdad – 22 February 2010
New York Times – Spike in Iraq Violence as Vote Nears – 22 February 2010
