Bloody day in Iraq as U.S. forces’ withdrawal approaches

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: As Iraq gears up for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from urban areas by the end of June, a number of Iraqi cities on Saturday (June 20) witnessed fierce attacks by car bombs and explosives charges, which left scores of casualties, raising questions about the ability of Iraqi forces to maintain security in the country after the withdrawal. In Kirkuk, an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted the convoy of Col. Abdullah Qadir, the director of the police canine department in Kirkuk police, wounding two civilians. Two vehicles, including a civilian’s car, were destroyed by the blast. A truck bomb went off targeting a Shiite mosque in Taza district in the southwest of Kirkuk, killing 20 and injuring 80. However, the director of the province’s health department told IraqiNews.com news agency that the toll from the suicide bombing that took place on Saturday in Taza district of Kirkuk rose to 67 dead and 200 injured. “The toll is still rising due to the strength and location of the blast,” Dr. Sabah Ameen told IraqiNews.com news agency. “A medic team from Kirkuk’s health directorate was delegated to help the victims,” he said. “Other medic teams from Arbil and Sulaimaniya provinces also arrived to provide further help,” he added. In Ninewa, a police source said that two policemen were wounded when a car bomb went off targeting their patrol north of Mosul city. “The incident took place on Saturday evening (June 20),” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. Mosul also witnessed another incident on Saturday when unknown gunmen killed a policeman and wounded his father, according to a police source. “Unidentified gunmen intercepted the car of the cop, who was on vacation with his family near al-Maash market, western Mosul,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, killing the policeman and wounding his father,” the source noted. The source did not provide further details. In Baghdad, a police source said that two civilians on Saturday were wounded in an explosive charge blast that ripped through the Iraqi capital. “A sticky improvised explosive device (IED) placed inside a parked taxicab detonated in al-Sheikh Marouf area of downtown Baghdad,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The explosion wounded two civilians who were close to the scene of the blast,” the source noted. Meanwhile, the Baghdad’s Operations Command (BOC) said on Saturday that four bodies bearing signs of gunshot wounds were found in Baghdad’s Sadr city. “The bodies were found inside a building currently under construction in al-Ras area on June 18,” according to a BOC statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency. “An investigation is underway to reveal the motivations behind the crime,” the statement noted. In Thi-Qar, southern Iraq, police forces seized rockets, roadside bombs, and an explosives cache in northern Nassiriya city, Thi-Qar province’s police directorate said on Saturday. “The storage was found in al-Rafidain neighborhood, northern Nassiriya,” the directorate said in a release received IraqiNews.com news agency. “The operation relied on intelligence tip offs,” it said. On June 15, the Iraqi defense minister had said that the Defense Ministry accomplished 90 percent of the missions to receive the security responsibility following the withdrawal of the Multi-National Forces (MNF) from Iraq on June 30. “The security file of the five remaining provinces will be handed over to Iraqi forces after June 30,” Abdulqadir Jassim al-Ubiedi said in a press conference in Baghdad attended by IraqiNews.com news agency. The spokesman for the Iraqi government, Ali al-Dabbagh had said on Monday (June 15) that all procedures for the U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi cities on June 30 have been completed, noting that Iraqi forces will protect the foreigners and diplomats still working in Iraq. This came during a joint press co