High_Gravity
Belligerent Drunk
Iraq Attack In Shiite South Kills 22
Iraq Attack In Shiite South Kills 22
BAGHDAD Twin explosions early Tuesday near a government compound killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens in a rare attack in the Shiite heartland, Iraqi officials said.
The blasts came as Iraq's top political factions started to discuss in earnest whether to ask the U.S. to leave some of its troops to stay beyond the Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline because of the security situation.
While violence is well below what it was during the years that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, militants are still able to launch deadly attacks. The ongoing violence has led to concerns about what happens when the 47,000 remaining U.S. troops are withdrawn.
Still, such violence is rare in the mostly Shiite city of Diwaniyah, which is 80 miles (130 kilometers) outside of Baghdad and well south of most of the insurgent strongholds.
Provincial Gov. Salim Hussein Alwan said he was leaving his house when a suicide bomber rammed into a police checkpoint nearby.
"I was in the garage preparing to leave when the attacker hit the police barrier outside and crashed with their vehicle," Alwan told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
The suicide bomber also crashed into a police vehicle that had munitions inside, said Alwan and Maj. Gen. Othman al-Ghanimy, who commands military operations in Qadisiyah province where Diwaniyah is located. That caused the police vehicle to explode.
But a police officer and a member of the provincial council, Thamir Naji, said there were two suicide bombers driving vehicles who blew themselves up. Conflicting accounts are common in the chaotic aftermath of such attacks. The police official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
At least 37 people were wounded in the blasts about 7:30 a.m., when security forces were changing shifts, the officials said.
Iraq Attack In Shiite South Kills 22