June 26, 2013 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact
The past few months marked a tragic return to sectarian violence in Iraq not seen since 2006-2007. Over 2,000 people died across the country since the start of April, most in Baghdad, as al-Qaeda’s ugly footprint further crushed the spirit of a population long weary of death.
Although Sunni, Shia, Turkomen, Christians, and Kurds are targeted, it seems that al-Qaeda is targeting Shia more than any other group as it piggybacks on the resentment of the Sunni community to Maliki’s uneven handed government. The terrorists seek the disruption and dissolution of the state.
On Monday ten car bombs killed over 40 people in Baghdad alone. Yesterday saw gunmen attack a church in the al-Amin neighborhood. Recently one of the deadliest attacks saw 11 killed and 25 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a cafe packed with young people in the largely Shiite neighborhood of al-Ameen in southeastern Baghdad. [Huffington post]
What lies ahead may be even worse. An annual target of terrorists is gathering in the Shia holy city of Karbala. The Shabaniyah festival gathers tens of thousands marking the birth of the Hidden Imam, a revered Shia leader. It has proved to be a targeted environment in the past.
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