Clashes Reported in Baghdad After Funeral Bombing Kills 80

Police Open Fire on Protesters in Wake of Bombing

by Jason Ditz, January 27, 2011

A massive bombing in Baghdad’s Shi’ite neighborhood of Shula targeted a funeral today, killing around 80 people and wounded upwards of 100 others. The attack is the largest of what has been a growing string of major bombing attacks over the past two weeks.

In the wake of the protests angry locals took to the streets, condemning the police for failing to stop the bombing despite the fact that Shula only has one road entrance, and that is a police checkpoint. Inevitably, police opened fire on the protesters.

Which normally is the end of the matter, beyond a few articles about how many civilian protesters the police killed. But in the wake of today’s bombing and reportedly bolstered by growing unrest across the Mideast, some of the protesters fired back.

Iraqi troops have since sealed off the area, and have ordered residents to stay in their homes. There is as yet no indication of the number of casualties in the post bombing clashes, nor any claim of responsibility for the bombing itself.

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