IRAQ: A suicide bomb at a cafe in Iraq's Balad kills at least 16 people and wounds 41 others, deadly bombs in the town of Muqdadiya target a school and playground killing six people

Record ID: 357682

  • Title: IRAQ: A suicide bomb at a cafe in Iraq's Balad kills at least 16 people and wounds 41 others, deadly bombs in the town of Muqdadiya target a school and playground killing six people
  • Date: 12th August 2013
  • Summary: BALAD TOWN, SALAHUDDIN PROVINCE, IRAQ (AUGUST 12, 2013) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS/AGENCY POOL) SECURITY FORCES AT SCENE
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA7JR3XOIQSA68G1UYRSWS0JZQ4
  • Story Text: At least 16 people were killed and 41 wounded on Monday (August 12) in a suicide bomb attack on a crowded cafe in Balad, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Baghdad, part of the worst wave of violence in Iraq in around five years.
    Local residents could be seen clearing damage on site of the attack as security forces inspected the extent of damage wrought on the cafe and surrounding areas.
    Balad mayor Maliki Laftah told Reuters that all of the casualties were civilians.
    One local resident said the attacker had set of explosives he was wearing upon entering the cafe.

    "What can you expect from a man who has no religion and who does not believe in the Lord of the World. He was wearing an explosive belt and he walked in and then he blew himself up and you can see the damage he caused."
    Two roadside bombs - one planted near a playground and another near a school - also killed six people and wounded dozens, some of them children, in the town of Muqdadiya, 80 kilometres northeast of the capital on Monday.
    In a separate attack near the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, gunmen intercepted a car carrying three soldiers who were on their way to join their unit and shot them dead, police said.
    It was not immediately clear who was behind Monday's violence, although suspicion is likely to fall on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), formed earlier this year through a merger of al Qaeda's affiliates in Syria and Iraq.
    The blasts underlined a shift in tactics by suspected Islamist militants, who are increasingly targeting not only military checkpoints and marketplaces, but also cafes and recreational areas used by families and children.
    The latest bloodshed came as al Qaeda claimed responsibility for weekend bombings across Iraq which killed dozens of people during Eid al-Fitr, the festive end to the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, heightening fears of even wider sectarian slaughter.
    The ISIL said on jihadist forums it was behind the attacks across Baghdad and southern provinces on Saturday (August 11).
    It also warned the government to stop arresting suspected militants or face more violence.

    "The Islamic State deployed some of its security efforts in Baghdad and the southern province and other places to deliver a quick message," ISIL said, according to the SITE Monitoring group, which tracks jihadist websites.
    Bombs ripped through markets, shopping streets and parks late on Saturday as Iraqi families were out celebrating Eid. Nearly 80 people were killed and scores wounded, police and medical sources said.
    The group, which has also claimed responsibility for jail breaks in Iraq last month in which hundreds of convicts escaped, said a government campaign to arrest suspects and ramp up security in the capital had only made things worse.

    "They will pay a high price for what they did, and they will not be secure day or night during Eid or other times," the ISIL statement said, according to the SITE translation.

    "They should watch their footsteps and stop the detention campaigns and cease harming the Sunni clans, and ... expect more of what will harm them and what will bring them to their senses."
    The Interior Ministry, which said last month it was facing an "open war", said on Sunday that media reports about the attacks had been exaggerated and that its recent security crackdown had been effective.
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