Thunderous truck bombs targeted the heart of the Iraqi government Wednesday in a blunt challenge to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his assurances that Iraqi police and soldiers will be able to maintain control as U.S. forces pull back.
Most of the 95 dead and 536 wounded were casualties of attacks on the Foreign and Finance ministries. The bombings took place on the sixth anniversary of the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, which is regarded by many as the start of the insurgency that gripped Iraq until the U.S. added troops and cut deals with former insurgents two years ago.
Wednesday’s blasts, which government officials blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq and loyalists of Saddam Hussein, illustrated the dangers facing al-Maliki as Iraqi forces take over from the Americans.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has based his fortunes on overseeing the sharp reduction in violence and fostering national pride among Iraqis who are eager to see the Americans leave. U.S. helicopters were seen buzzing over the blast sites Wednesday, but al-Maliki did not ask for American help. U.S. forces left Iraq’s cities on June 30 with great fanfare, and Iraqi politicians said that for al-Maliki to ask them back would be tantamount to admitting failure.
The Foreign Ministry is on the edge of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. At least 59 people were killed in the blast there, and 411 were injured.
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A massive blast minutes earlier outside the Finance Ministry killed 28 people and collapsed an overpass.
Two rockets exploded about the same time in a busy central market area, killing six more. As the midmorning blasts rippled across Baghdad, people shuttered their shops and raced for home.
As fabric merchant Gaith Abdullah headed home after the first blast, two mortar shells struck the road ahead of him. “I saw people killed and wounded on the ground, and many cars were ablaze,” he said. “The security forces started shooting and were firing randomly. Then another massive explosion shook the whole place,” apparently the blast at the Foreign Ministry.
Al-Maliki acknowledged in a statement that the bombings exposed deficiencies in Iraqi security forces. But Sami al-Askari, a prominent Shiite legislator who is close to the prime minister, said there was no talk of inviting the U.S. military to take on a bigger role.
In June, al-Maliki trumpeted the U.S. withdrawal as a victory for Iraq. Such was his level of confidence that he had recently called for the withdrawal of all the concrete barriers that had been erected to protect buildings against blasts. One such barrier, protecting the Foreign Ministry, was removed recently, employees said.
Windows shattered at the nearby Al-Rashid Hotel and at the Parliament building in the Green Zone.
“This is an unacceptable mistake by the government, and it is a barbaric attack to destabilize the stability and security in this peaceful country,” said Sheik Chasib Tamimi, who was attending a tribal meeting in the hotel when the blast sent tribesmen scurrying for cover.
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