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Τρίτη 24 Ιουλίου 2012

Late night attacks take Iraq death toll to 116: police, medics


Late night attacks take Iraq death toll to 116: police, medics


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Relatives of victims killed in one of Monday's bomb attacks, carry their coffins before a burial ceremony at a cemetery in Najaf 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad July 24, 2012. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish
BAGHDAD | Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:50am EDT
(Reuters) - Two bombs killed nine people in Iraq late on Monday, police and hospital sources said, taking to 116 the death toll in a string of coordinated bomb and gun attacks against mostly Shi'ite Muslim targets.
A car bomb exploded near a cafe in the Shi'ite Ameen district in southeastern Baghdad, killing six men and wounding 24 others as they sat smoking shisha water pipes and drinking tea.
Three other people died when a roadside bomb went off near their mini-bus about 20 km (12 miles) west of Baquba, a city northeast of Baghdad. Seven others were wounded in the blast, police said.
The attacks took to at least 299 the number of people wounded in the bloodiest day of violence to hit Iraq this year.
The bloodshed, which coincided with an intensifying of the conflict in neighboring Syria, highlighted deficiencies in the Iraqi security forces, which failed to prevent insurgents from striking in multiple locations across the country.
No group has claimed responsibility for the wave of assaults but a senior Iraqi security official accused the local wing of al Qaeda, made up of Sunni Muslim militants hostile to the Shi'ite-led government, which is friendly with Iran.
Sectarian slaughter peaked in 2006-2007, but deadly attacks have persisted while political tensions among Iraq's main Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions have increased since U.S. troops completed their withdrawal in December.
(Reporting by Kareem Raheem in Baghdad and Ali Mohammed in Baquba, writing by Aseel Kami; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Behind-the-Scenes Video of Deadly Taliban Attack Emerges

By MUHAMMAD LILA (@muhammadlila) and ALEEM AGHA
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
July 23, 2012

The Taliban has released a new video that offers a chilling play-by-play account of a deadly, coordinated attack on large U.S. base that climaxed with an explosion so strong the shockwaves could be felt for miles away.

The hour-long video, released by the group's propaganda wing, shows the entire attack, which took place last month, from its initial planning stages to the dramatic moment when a suicide bomber detonates a ten-ton bomb outside the gates of Camp Salerno, the third largest U.S. base in the country. The blast is captured from three cameras, each at different angles, while militants provide commentary in the background.

In addition to offering rare insight into the group's planning for a large mission, the video also shows the Taliban's increasingly sophisticated video production capabilities. The interviews are shot in a style that look more like something seen on an American reality TV show than the deserts of Afghanistan and the jihadi songs that play in the background feature digitally-altered vocals. 

The Taliban claim twenty coalition troops were killed in the attack -- numbers that NATO denies. While the footage does not show any specific casualties, it does show major damage to the base, including the crumpled roofs of nearby buildings, the sheer force of the explosion ripping them up from their bearings. The main target of the bomb, the dining hall, was completely flattened.

Initially, NATO did not report any casualties, but later admitted two American troops were killed and three dozen suffered serious wounds, while more than 100 others were treated for minor injuries. 

Earlier in the video, many of the militants can be seen wearing U.S. army fatigues as they train in the mountains with rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and AK-47's. In a show of strength, the group's commander practices firing from two AK-47s simultaneously, one in each hand. Later, he is seen briefing the militants on the mission. The briefing includes aerial photographs, plus a miniature mockup indicating the locations of the major targets inside the base.