71 killed, 201 Wounded In Attacks Across Baghdad

No fewer than 71 people have been
killed and 201 wounded in a series of
bombings and other attacks across
Baghdad, police and medical sources
said, the latest casualties in a
continuing wave of bloodshed. The northern neighbourhood of
Kadhimiyah, home to a prominent,
gold-domed Shia shrine, was the worst
hit. Two bombs went off in a parking lot,
followed by a suicide car bomber who
struck onlookers who had gathered at
the scene. Police said 10 people were
killed and 27 wounded in that attack. In Sadr City, an impoverished Shia
district in Baghdad’s northeast, two car
bombs killed seven people. A
restaurant owner said he saw an
attacker just before one of the
explosions. “A man parked his car in front of the
restaurant. He got breakfast and drank
his tea. Then I heard a huge explosion
when I was inside the kitchen,” the
owner, who requested anonymity, told
the Reuters news agency. “When I went outside, I saw his car
completely destroyed and he had
disappeared. Many people were hurt.” Another car bomb killed seven people
and wounded 23 in Jisr Diyala in
southeastern Baghdad, police and
medics said. The Interior Ministry described the
attacks as “terrorist explosions” but
said the number of people killed was
only 20, with 213 wounded. Baghdad
has said that media reports exaggerate
attacks in Iraq, and that security forces have stopped many attempted
bombings. If the higher death toll was correct,
Wednesday’s violence was worst since
August 10, when nearly 80 people were
killed during a religious holiday. More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in
July, the highest monthly death toll
since 2008, according to the United
Nations. The renewed violence, 18 months after
US troops withdrew from Iraq, has
stirred anxiety about a relapse towards
the widespread sectarian slaughter of
2006-07. In other attacks on Wednesday,
gunmen killed six members of the
Sahwa, (“Awakening”) movement, a
group of former Sunni fighters who
rebelled against al-Qaeda. They were
attacked in an ambush on a checkpoint in Latifiya, a suburb 40km south of
Baghdad. Armed men also stormed a Shia home
in the same area, killing six family
members, police and medical sources
said. Four soldiers were killed and five were
wounded in Madaen, southeast of
Baghdad, by a roadside bomb targeting
an Iraqi army patrol, police and medics
said. After years of reduced violence, the
intensity of attacks has dramatically
risen since the start of 2013. Bombings have often targeted cafes
and other places where families gather,
as well as military facilities and
checkpoints.

Kanu Drums Support for Golden Eaglets to Win World Cup.

Former Super Eagles skipper Nwankwo
Kanu has tipped the Nigeria under-17 side,
Golden Eaglets, to make it past the group
stage of the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in
the United Arab Emirate (UAE).


Nwankwo Kanu.

Kanu was one of the few players who
witnessed Monday’s draw ceremony at the
Hotel Fairmont Bab AL Bahr where the
Eaglets were drawn in Group F alongside
Mexico, and debutantes, Iraq and Sweden. The former FIFA U-17 World Cup winner in
1993 lauded the world football governing
body for recognising his achievement at
world youth football level. “I’m happy that FIFA noted my previous
achievement at the U-17 World Cup as we
won it in 1993,” the two-time African Player
of the Year said. “But I’ll be happier if the present squad go
all the way to win the championship again in
the UAE.” Nigeria opens their campaign against
defending champion, Mexico, on October 19
and moves on to play Iraq and Sweden on
October 22 and 25 respectively. “I have great confidence in this team and I
want to implore the coaches to drum it to
the ears of the players that winning the first
game against Mexico is very important. “Winning that first game against Mexico will
boost their confidence and I believe that will
set the tone for every other thing they will
do at the competition,” Kanu added. “We have to belief that these boys can do it,
I mean winning the World Cup in the UAE. “But we must support them positively with
words of encouragement, prayers and by
the grace of God I will be there to lend my
own support.”

12 Security Personnel Killed In Iraq

Gunmen have killed 12 Iraqi policemen and
soldiers while a truck bomb hit a southern
port. In Saturday’s deadliest attack, gunmen
opened fire on an army post in the town of
Madain, just southeast of Baghdad, in a pre-
dawn strike that left five soldiers dead and
three others wounded, police and a medical
source said. Among the dead was a lieutenant colonel.
The gunmen fled after the attack, and
security forces, who cordoned off the
scene, launched a manhunt. North of Baghdad, militants shot dead four
police who were buying ice near the city of
Tikrit. Security forces often purchase large blocks
of ice to distribute to nearby checkpoints in
order to cope with Iraq’s sweltering summer
heat. In another attack north of the capital,
gunmen killed three soldiers in the restive
Muqdadiyah area of Diyala province. And in the far south, a truck rigged with
explosives blew up in the parking lot of the
port of Umm Qasr,
wounding three people and damaging a
docked ship and several nearby trucks. The port’s operations were not affected,
however, a spokesman said. No group immediately claimed
responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni
militants linked to al-Qaeda and opposed to
the Shi’ite-led government frequently carry
out attacks against security forces. Attacks have killed more than 3480 people
since the beginning of 2013, according to
figures compiled by AFP. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier
General Saad Maan said on Saturday that
security forces had killed a top al-Qaeda
militant in Tikrit and detained two of his
aides.
He did not identify the man who was killed.

Car Bombings Kill 27 In Iraq

At least 27 people have been killed in multiple
car bombs targeting markets and shopping
streets in Baghdad, an interior ministry source
said. Another 78 people were wounded in the six
bombings on Tuesday. Four separate car bombs went off in eastern
and southern districts of the capital in quick
succession. Two more car bombs exploded in markets of
Husseiniya and Shaab neighourhoods in the
north of the city. Most of the attacks were in Shia
neighbourhoods. Bomb attacks have increased in Iraq since the
start of the year. More than 1,000 Iraqis were
killed in July, the highest monthly death toll
since 2008, the United Nations said last week. The Interior Ministry has said Iraq was facing
an “open war” fuelled by sectarian violence
and has ramped up security in the capital this
week by closing roads and deploying
additional police and helicopters. Security forces have launched major
operations targeting fighters in multiple
provinces including Baghdad, during which
they have arrested scores of people and seized
weapons and explosives, according to the
defence ministry. [AlJazeera]