The Common Ills: 470 killed in Iraq so far this month

Saturday, August 17, 2013

470 killed in Iraq so far this month

Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 448 violent deaths so far this month. NINA notes a Sharqat bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left three more injured, a Baquba boming left two people injured, a Mosul bombing left 3 police dead and two civilians injured, and a Mosul sticky bombing left a police captain and his son injured. All Iraq News adds an armed Mosul attack left two police injured, an armed attack in Tikrit left 5 police dead, and a Tikrit bombing claimed 3 lives. Alsumaria reports a Baghdad bombing claimed 7 lives (one officer and six soldiers) and a truck bomb at an Umm Qasr port left two people injured. AFP notes, "In another attack north of the capital, gunmen killed three soldiers in the restive Muqdadiyah area of Diyala province." That's 22 reported dead and thirteen injured. That's 470 when you add it to IBC's total for the month so far.

Tim Arango (New York Times) has an article that captures the violence including the heartbreak of loss. We'll dig further in for this:

Iraqis long ago lost confidence in the ability of their security forces, trained by the Americans at a cost of billions of dollars, to protect them.

Now they feel increasingly mocked by their leaders, whose latest pronouncements of security successes are met with revulsion.

A few hours before the attacks on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki sent a text message to every citizen with a mobile phone, wishing all a happy Id al-Fitr and “security, stability and prosperity.”

Use the link for the article in full. If you don't subscribe to the New York Times and have already used your free articles, click here to read Arango at a non-Times newspaper.

Nouri can't provide security but he can provide propaganda. All Iraq News reports Nouri traveled to Babel to . . . well babble. He slammed Arabia satellite channel insisting it distorted death tolls. Meanwhile All Iraq News reports Iraqiya leader Ayad Allawi has "accused the Premier Nouri al-Maliki, of exploiting the state media to circulate for his third term as the PM." NINA covers it here.

The following community sites -- plus Cindy Sheehan, the Guardian, On the Wilder Side and Antiwar.com -- updated yesterday and today: