ஈராக்கில் அமைதிமார்க்கத்தினர் ஒருவர் மீது ஒருவர் வீசிக்கொண்ட வெடிகுண்டுகளில் 39 பேர் பலி

ஈராக்கில் அமைதிமார்க்கத்தினர் ஒருவர் மீது ஒருவர் வீசிக்கொண்ட வெடிகுண்டுகளில் 39 பேர் பலியானார்கள், பலர் காயமடைந்தனர்

Bombings in Iraq Kill at Least 31

SLIDESHOW Previous Next
A woman walks past black flags after a radical Shiite cleric announced a three-day mourning period in Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008 in protest against the US-Iraqi security pact approved by the Iraqi parliament earlier this week. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

Iraqi civilians inspect the wreckage of a car bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. A parked car exploded Friday evening in central Baghdad, killing at least three people and wounding 13, according to police and hospital officials. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) (Khalid Mohammed - AP)

A man injured in a twin bombing near the entrance to a police academy is transported out of the emergency room at a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. At least 16 people were killed and 46 wounded in a nearly simultaneous double bombing near a police academy in eastern Baghdad. A suicide attacker detonated his explosives vest packed with ball-bearings at the entrance to the academy, then a car bomb exploded about 150 yards (137 meters) away, apparently aimed at those responding to the initial blast, the U.S. military said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

Iraqi security personnel secure the site of a twin bombing near the entrance to a police academy in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. At least 16 people were killed and 46 wounded in a nearly simultaneous double bombing near a police academy in eastern Baghdad. A suicide attacker detonated his explosives vest packed with ball-bearings at the entrance to the academy, then a car bomb exploded about 150 yards (137 meters) away, apparently aimed at those responding to the initial blast, the U.S. military said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) (Hadi Mizban - AP)

U.S. and Iraqi soldiers stand by the crater created by a car bomb near the entrance to a police academy in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. At least 16 people were killed and 46 wounded in a nearly simultaneous double bombing near a police academy in eastern Baghdad. A suicide attacker detonated his explosives vest packed with ball-bearings at the entrance to the academy, then a car bomb exploded about 150 yards (137 meters) away, apparently aimed at those responding to the initial blast, the U.S. military said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) (Hadi Mizban - AP)

U.S. soldiers stand by the crater created by a car bomb near the entrance to a police academy in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. At least 16 people were killed and 46 wounded in a nearly simultaneous double bombing near a police academy in eastern Baghdad. A suicide attacker detonated his explosives vest packed with ball-bearings at the entrance to the academy, then a car bomb exploded about 150 yards (137 meters) away, apparently aimed at those responding to the initial blast, the U.S. military said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) (Hadi Mizban - AP)


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By Sudarsan Raghavan and Zaid Sabah
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 1, 2008; 12:44 PM

BAGHDAD, Dec. 1 -- Bombing attacks targeting Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and a U.S. patrol the northern city of Mosul left at least 31 people dead and dozens more injured, Iraqi officials said, making Monday one of the deadliest days in recent weeks in Iraq.

The attacks highlighted the fragility of Iraq's security situation as the country prepares for provincial elections early next year. The United Nations mission in Iraq warned Sunday that violence could rise in the run-up to the polls.

In eastern Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt at the back gate of a police academy about 1 p.m. Two minutes later another bomber exploded a booby-trapped car at the main entrance of a nearby government building, said Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, the top spokesman for Iraqi military operations in Baghdad.

In a statement, the U.S. military said 15 police officers died and 35 officers and civilians were injured in the attack. Iraqi authorities said the blasts killed 11 people and injured 34.

When the blast occurred, students were leaving the academy after classes, said Lt. Ahmad Kadhim, a member of the SWAT team assigned to guard the academy. He said his men had left their posts to receive their salaries.

"The bomber seized this opportunity, so it seems the suicide attack was organized," Kadhim said. "The bomber received information from inside the academy telling him that the SWAT team is not available."

In Mosul, a suicide bomber struck a U.S. military patrol, detonating his explosives about 9:40 a.m., the U.S. military said in a statement. Initial reports indicated that no U.S. soldiers were injured but that "the battle damage assessment may change."

A hospital official in Mosul said the blast killed 15 people and wounded 25 others.


Although its influence has diminished in other parts of Iraq, the Sunni insurgency remains resilient in Mosul, staging bold attacks in recent months targeting not only U.S. and Iraqi forces but Christians and local journalists.

Also on Monday, a roadside bomb exploded near the convoy of a senior Defense Ministry official, wounding him, killing one of his bodyguards and injuring three other guards and three civilians, Atta said.

The blast took place as the official, Maj. Gen. Mudher al-Mawla, was leaving his home in the mainly Sunni Sulaik enclave of northern Baghdad, Atta said.

Mawla was in charge of integrating the Sons of Iraq, the mainly Sunni tribesmen and former insurgents who allied themselves with U.S. forces, into the Iraqi security forces. The groups are widely credited with helping bring down violence in Iraq. The Iraqi government recently took over responsibility for many of the Sons of Iraq groups in Baghdad.

Special correspondents K.I. Ibrahim and Dalya Hassan in Baghdad and Dlovan Brwari in Mosul contributed to this report.