Iraq Slaughter: 55 Killed, 288 Wounded

by , January 16, 2013

Iraq’s, so far, deadliest day of 2013 left at least 55 Iraqis killed and 288 more wounded.

In northern Iraq, attacks focused on Kurdish targets in Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato. These two cities lie in an oil-rich region contested by Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan. Last month, they came under attack during a pair of 2012′s bloodiest days. However, on those two days, Shi’ites locations were targeted. Meanwhile, Turkey continued its military operations against Kurdish rebel sites in sparsely populated areas.

At least 26 people were killed and over 200 more were wounded in a double bombing during rush hour this morning on Atlas Street in Kirkuk. In the graver attack, a suicide bomber blew up his car outside the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Nearby, a car bomb also exploded close to the criminal investigations bureau. The second blast may have been targeting a K.D.P. official. In any case, many officials and security personnel were among the casualties, and a number of buildings were severely damaged or reduced to rubble. The K.D.P. is the party of Kurdish regional president Massoud Barzani. Four more people were wounded in a third bombing.

In Tuz Khormato, five people were killed and 40 more were wounded during a suicide attack at a Kurdish security center. The offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, another political party, are close by. Tensions between Kurdish and Arab forces escalated almost into a war during November. The city is also claimed by Iraqi Turkmen. Separately, a soldier was shot dead at a market last night. Also, a bomb at a petrol station left one dead and four wounded.

In Baghdad, gunmen killed three policemen who were sitting in a car in the Shabb district. Also in Shabb, five policemen were wounded in a bombing. Two policemen were killed in a roadside blast. A soldier was gunned down.Two women were shot dead at their home in Washash. Three civilians were wounded in a Karrada blast. Eight more soldiers and civilians were wounded in several roadside bombings. Four Issawi mourners were wounded when a bomb struck a convoy.

A roadside bomb in Hawija left one policeman dead and four others wounded.

A bomb in Falluja wounded three mourners at a funeral for M.P. Eifan Saadoun al-Issawi, who was assassinated yesterday.

Two people were shot dead in Dujail.

A sniper killed a soldier in Tikrit. A sticky bomb killed a policeman.

Near Baiji, a bombing killed two people and wounded nine more.

Clashes in Rutba left six gunmen dead and two soldiers wounded.

Mortars fell on the Ramadi home of the chairman of Anbar province’s council. Two bodyguards were wounded.

Read more by Margaret Griffis