26 die as insurgents storm Iraq's central bank
KIM GAMEL,
Associated Press Writer
Smoke rises over central Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 13,
2010. Iraqi security officials say a series of downtown
marketplace bombs near the Central Bank of Iraq has killed
several people and injured at least 20 others. A Baghdad
police officer and a Ministry of Interior official said
Sunday's explosions from at least three roadside bombs may
have targeted bank employees as they were leaving work. (AP
Photo/Karim Kadim)
BAGHDAD (AP) — Insurgents wearing military uniforms stormed Iraq's
central bank Sunday during an apparent robbery attempt, battling
security forces in a three-hour standoff after bombs exploded nearby in
a coordinated daylight attack that left as many as 26 people dead.
The assault on Iraq's top financial institution stoked fears that
insurgents are taking advantage of political deadlock after inconclusive
March 7 national elections to try to derail security gains as the U.S.
prepares to withdraw its forces by the end of next year.
The 325-member parliament was due to convene Monday, but analysts have
said agreement on a new government could still be months away.
Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi blamed the attack
on al-Qaida in Iraq but said no money had been stolen from the bank,
which holds gold deposits as well as U.S. and Iraqi currency.
The violence began with the bombings — which sent plumes of smoke over
the city skyline — although there were conflicting reports about the
number and nature of the blasts.
The first bomb went off on the road near an electrical generator, al-Moussawi
said. Insurgents wearing army uniforms then tried to enter the bank
through two entrances, exchanging gunfire with the guards.
He said three suicide bombers detonated their explosives vests at the
main entrance of the bank, while two other militants were killed by
security forces at the second gate.
Iraqi security forces then stormed the building, prompting a standoff
that lasted at least three hours, according to al-Moussawi's account.
An unknown number of attackers managed to get to a higher floor and set
a fire to burn some documents and may have escaped by blending in with
the bank employees, he added, saying the motive appeared to be to steal
the bank's deposits, then blow up the building.
Local police officers said a bomb in a parked car also exploded about
900 yards from the bank.
Al-Moussawi said 15 people were killed, but police and hospital
officials later put the casualty toll at 26 dead and more than 60
wounded.
Ghayth Abdullah, the 37-year-old owner of a nearby clothing store, said
the blast sent people running from the site, including dozens of women
who worked at the bank. He blamed the government for failing to protect
the people.
"I was not thinking about my property or livelihood," he said. "My worry
was what would happen to my family if I were killed by the blast or
random shots from the crossfire."
Violent robberies that bear some of the hallmarks of politically
motivated attacks have been on the rise in Iraq, as sectarian violence
ebbs. Iraqi officials have attributed at least some of them to
cash-strapped militants desperately trying to raise money for their
operations.
But Sunday's attack appeared also to have a political motive as
insurgents led by al-Qaida in Iraq seek to undermine confidence in the
U.S.-backed government and other state institutions. It was reminiscent
of violence that was common at the height of sectarian violence that
almost pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006-2007 before
a series of U.S.-Iraqi offensives.
Insurgents have targeted government institutions several times over the
past year.
Gunmen also killed two policemen in the northern city of Mosul, which
has been one of the hardest areas to tame since the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion, according to Iraqi officials.
All the Iraqi officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they
weren't authorized to release the information.
The narrow victory of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya party in the March 7
parliamentary vote was initially heralded as a groundbreaking step
toward a secular Iraqi government after years of Sunni-Shiite tensions.
But an alliance between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and another major
Shiite coalition, brokered with the help of Iran, has sparked months of
political maneuvering, leaving the government in limbo.
In a sign resolution was still far away, senior Iraqiya member Hassan
al-Allawi said he would not lead Monday's opening parliamentary session
as had been planned, saying it would take up to five months to form a
government and he didn't want to hold the job that long.He said he has
handed over the job to Kurdish lawmaker Fouad Massoum.
Earlier Sunday, an independent public watchdog panel said Iraq's
government suffered more corruption last year than any other since the
U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Rahim al-Ogaili, chairman of Iraq's
Commission on Public Integrity, cited 7,797 cases of waste, fraud and
abuse in 2009 that resulted in the loss of about 842 billion Iraqi
dinars, or about $718 million. He did not give details about how the
money was wasted, or the total funds lost since 2003.
Al-Ogaili, whose panel reports to parliament, said Iraqi leaders largely
ignore evidence of corruption, adding: "There are no real and serious
measures to fight it."
The trial of British security contractor Danny Fitzsimons also was
postponed until Aug. 4. He is accused of fatally shooting two
colleagues, a Briton and an Australian, during a fight in Baghdad's
Green Zone last summer.
___
Associated Press Writers Hadeel al-Shalchi, Sinan Salaheddin, Mazin
Yahya and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.
2009 (c) Copyright The Sentinel-Record To subscribe or visit go to:
http://hosted2.ap.org |