Baghdad bombings bring back to the minds of Iraqis the horror of the bloody days

Baghdad bombings bring back to the minds of Iraqis the horror of the bloody days

01/22/2021 11:10

[Baghdad-Where]

A month ago, the security forces succeeded in preventing terrorist attacks in the capital, Baghdad, by arresting members of the terrorist “ISIS” who had planned to carry them out with explosive belts, but Thursday’s bombing brought back to mind the horror of the “bloody days” as a result of suicide attacks during the past years.
The last attacks in Baghdad, which the terrorist organization “ISIS” claimed responsibility for, took place in November 2019, using a car bomb and improvised explosive devices that left 10 dead and dozens wounded.
During the current year, the security authorities announced the arrest and thwarting of suicide attacks by militants of the terrorist organization “ISIS” that were targeting security sites, civilian gatherings and popular markets in the capital.
The security leaders announced that the capital had become stable in security as a result of pre-emptive operations and the activation of the intelligence effort, but the elements of the terrorist organization during that period stepped up their attacks in the provinces of Diyala (east), Salah al-Din, Nineveh, Kirkuk (north), and Anbar (west).
In the face of the security leaders ’assurances of an improvement in Baghdad’s conditions, the international coalition forces led by the United States of America were warning that the terrorist organization” ISIS “was still a threat to Iraqi security.
In the past months, Baghdad witnessed the reduction of security barriers and the reopening of closed areas for years due to suicide attacks, due to the improvement in the security situation, but the renewed attacks may re-impose previous measures again.
Suicide attacks may affect the government’s plan to remove the army from the cities and for the police to assume responsibility for maintaining security, as the Ministry of Interior developed a plan to be implemented during 2021, which requires the receipt of the security file from the army in the governorates of Babil (south), Wasit (south), Diyala, Diwaniyah (south), and Muthanna. (South).
on Thursday, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a popular market in the “Aviation Square” in Baghdad, killing 32 people and wounding 110 others, according to the outcome is final.

– The weakness of the security and intelligence effort, a
member of the Security and Defense Committee in Parliament, Taha Al-Defense, said in a statement carried by Anadolu Agency, that “the weakness of the security and intelligence effort is the main reason behind the new suicide attacks in Baghdad.”
Al-Defense added: “What happened in Baghdad was caused by the weakness of the security and intelligence efforts of the Ministry of Interior through the failure to pursue terrorists, especially in the outskirts of the city.”
And he added: “The security forces, although they were able to arrest a number of ISIS members, unfortunately did not arrive through the intelligence effort, which was weak for all the organization’s cells in the outskirts of the capital.”
He added, “We believe that ISIS continues to pose a threat to security, especially in the areas it used to control in the north and west of the country.”
In turn, a member of the committee, MP Kazem Al-Sayyadi, told Anadolu Agency that political conflicts greatly affect the course of the security situation in Iraq.
Al-Sayyadi added, “The current political conflicts due to the issue of early elections, where some ask for a delay and some want to expedite their conduct, all create chaos that casts a shadow over the security situation and is exploited by ISIS militants to launch attacks.”
Early elections will be held in Iraq on October 10, after it was decided to postpone them, as their holding is considered a demand of popular protests that the country has witnessed since the end of 2019.
The majority of political blocs supported the decision to postpone the elections, which were scheduled for next June 6, to make room for Election Commission to finish its logistical preparations for the elections.

– “ISIS” cells north of Baghdad
. The retired Brigadier General, Radhi Mohsen, believes that suicide attacks are expected to return to Baghdad, due to the lack of a good resolution of the security situation in the areas north and west of the capital.
Mohsen explained, to Anadolu Agency, that “the security forces launched operations in these areas, but until now there are rugged and agricultural areas that the security forces have not reached north of Baghdad, and they are a suitable shelter for ISIS members to rearrange their ranks.”
He added, “Unfortunately, the security forces did not take advantage of a golden opportunity in 2020, as they could have combed these areas and imposed full control over them, before ISIS cells began attacking their targets.”
The spokesman means the “golden opportunity” that the Iraqi security forces did not take advantage of the stability of the security situation in areas north of Baghdad at the time, to conduct raids and combing of ISIS cells.
And “bloody days” is a term used by the Iraqi authorities, for the violent bombings that took place in Baghdad and Iraqi cities from 2009 to 2019 that left thousands of martyrs and injured, most notably the “Bloody Sunday” and “Bloody Wednesday” bombings.
On Sunday, July 3, 2013, a suicide bomber detonated his truck bomb in the Karrada district in central Baghdad, leaving more than 250 martyrs and about 500 wounded.
On Wednesday, August 19, 2009, Baghdad was subjected to a series of suicide attacks targeting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building and nearby areas, leaving 74 martyrs and more than 200 wounded.

alliraqnews.com