Erbil of Iraq Is Shaken by Bombings | ||
Erbil of Iraq Is Shaken by Bombings Acar bombing in Erbil was among at least five explosions on September 29 in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Six or more people were killed. Several explosions, some of them from suicide bombers, struck the heart of Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, setting off chaos and gunfights in the streets of the capital, Erbil. The attackers hit a building that houses the regional Kurdish government’s security service, and the scenes that unfolded — terrified people fleeing black plumes of smoke, the charred and smoking husks of vehicles in the streets — were extraordinary for a region that has largely been spared the violence that for years has plagued the rest of Iraq. In the aftermath, Iraqi forces swept across Erbil, and Sulaimaniya, another major Kurdish city, setting up checkpoints and other security measures familiar to residents of other Iraqi cities. Officials said at least six people — all members of the Kurdish security forces — were killed and dozens more wounded in the attacks, which included at least five explosions. The violence gripped the region with the sort of fear that has long enveloped the rest of the country. A statement from the regional government said six attackers were also killed. The attacks came just after the results of the region’s parliamentary elections were announced, but no group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings. In a statement, the United Nations office in Baghdad expressed shock at the “daring attack.” “For many years, the city of Erbil has benefited from peace and security, and I urge the regional and national authorities to work together to ensure that calm and tranquility will continue to prevail and that those responsible for the attack are brought to justice,” NikolayMladenov, the United Nations representative to Iraq, said in the statement. The self-governing Iraqi Kurdish region has been a haven of relative security and prosperity compared with the rest of the country, and it has attracted substantial foreign investment, including from foreign oil companies eager to develop the region’s vast oil reserves. During the years that American troops were fighting in Iraq, not a single American soldier was killed in combat in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraq’s Qaeda affiliate has gained strength across the country, but particularly in the northern city of Mosul, not far from the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, leading to speculation that groups there could have been behind the bombings.
| ||
Statistics View: 3,421 |
||