At Least 127 Killed in Coordinated Baghdad Bombings

Hundreds Wounded in Latest Massive Bombings

by Jason Ditz, December 08, 2009

Five car bombings struck across the Iraqi capital of Baghdad today, killing at least 127 and wounding another 519, the third massive coordinated attack on the city in the last half of the year.

The first attack struck a police patrol in the Dora district. Four other attacks occurred in a matter of minutes, all centered around official buildings. Analysts were quick to blame al-Qaeda for the attack.

Enormous attacks on official targets in Baghdad have happened every other month since August, each time followed by a flurry of arrests and promises of tightened security. Despite surrounding the capital with checkpoints and massive security forces, they seem unable to stop such attacks.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs condemned the bombing, but insisted that it proved the nation was moving in the right direction and that the attackers “are threatened by that.” Similar comments were made after the last couple of bombings which killed over 100 people. One must wonder, however, whether hundreds of civilian casualties are the best metric of progress.

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