Friday, September 20, 2024

Baghdad

Urgent: Security forces fortify measures in Baghdad, city’s street look semi-deserted, due to dozens of casulaties:

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The streets of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad looked semi-deserted on Tuesday night, following the bloody blasts that aimed a number of its districts and townships, whilst the security forces had boosted their measures through spread of its checkpoints, despite non-existence of curfew, according to the official spokesman in the name of Baghdad operations Command, Maj.General, Qassim Atta. IraqiNews.com’s reporters in Baghdad had noticed the closure of most shops and cafes in the eastern side of Baghdad, where dozens of popular tea-houses spread, shortly after a statement by Atta that a short curfew had been imposed in western Baghdad‘s Karkh bank, but was lifted after less than an hour, adding that people where seen rushing back to their homes, expecting further attacks. Atta and the Health Ministry had put the final result of attacks victims had reached 63 people killed and more than 290 others injured, 95 of whom stayed in hospitals, whilst the other wounded persons left them due to their minor injuries. Atta said that the explosions pinpointed against cafes and restaurants took place by 14 booby-trapped cars and cluster bombs in several Baghdad districts, including Al-Amin, Al-Sadr, Ur, Kazimiya, Hay al-Jijad, Hay al-Amel, Rahmaniya, Shu’ala, Chikouk, Kamaliya, Baya’a, Ghazaliya, new Baghdad and other districts. He added that the security forces had managed to dismantle two booby-trapped cars in Shu’ala and and Amiriya districts, in northwest and western Baghdad, that were found on the main highway connecting both districts. The attacks followed a terrorist attack on Sayidat al-Najat (Lady of Salvation) Church in central Baghdad‘s Karrada district on Sunday night that claimed the lives of 58 people, including women and children war shippers, 5 attackers and 7 security men, whilst the number of injured had reached 75 persons, including 15 army and police men, with the rest of the casualties were civilians and hostages. Several Baghdad residents, on their part, have burdened the Iraqi political leaders with responsibility for security violations, due to the constitutional vacuum that had its impact on the security situation, due to non-agreement on the formation of the new government, despite fact that about 8 months have passed on March 7th nationwide elections. Shop-keeper Abu-Saif told IraqiNews.com, while closing his mobile phones shop in east Baghdad‘s Palestine Street early in the day, that “the deterioration of the securiyt situation and the attacks against civilians have taken place due to the negligence of political leaders, who he said continued their differences and non-ability to form the new government.” “I won’t open my shop on Wednesday morning and may open later in the day, because the situation is too dangerous and our shops may become targets for other attacks, after the goldsmiths,” he said, in a hint to attacks that killed dozens of goldsmiths, who’s shops were stolen by attackers over the past few weeks. Mohammed, 38, owner of a cafe in east Baghdad‘s Sadr city, said that an explosion that took place on Tuesday night close to his shop, had forced its clients, mostly young sportsmen, to escape and return to their homes. He repeated the same accusations to the “political leaders from all winning blocs in the said elections, with being responsible for the clear security violations,” adding that he saw no end for the political crisis, thing that had its passive impact on the security conditions.” Adnan, 42, another Sadr citizen asked for the reason of hundreds of checkpoints and concrete walls in Baghdad, “whilst we feel humiliated by soldiers and policemen in those checkpoints, who don’t allow any car to pass without checking it..So, how did dozens of booby-trapped cars and other vehicles loaded with explosive charges passed, to b