BAGHDAD: A few Iraqis suspected the fuel truck that pulled up between a market and a mosque. But, as so often, they had no time to act before the suicide bomber struck in the sleepy town of Mussayib, killing 98 people in the bloodiest of a new spate of attacks ravaging Iraq.
The blast in the mostly Shia Muslim town south of Baghdad was typical of the suicide bombings which pose the deadliest security threat to the US-backed Iraqi government and may be designed to spark strife between newly empowered Shias and the Sunni Muslim Arabs dominant under Saddam Hussein.
A man in a large fuel truck drove into town and selected the best spot to inflict maximum casualties, parking close to a Shia mosque and a crowded vegetable market.
Several residents said the truck had set off alarm bells in their minds, but only seconds later, it exploded.
The carnage in Musayyib, the worst since a new government took over in April, occurred during a wave of suicide bombings which Al Qaeda said were part of an offensive to seize Baghdad.
Some 15 suicide bombers have struck within just over 48 hours in the capital and along the highway heading south.
Iraqi officials blame most such attacks on Muslim militants who have reached the country from across the Arab world, inspired by Al Qaeda and promises of paradise for “martyrs”.
The Musayyib death toll, the highest from a single bombing since 125 people were killed in February, prompted some members of parliament to criticize security forces, which are themselves a favourite target of suicide bombers.
ANGER IN PARLIAMENT: In unusually strong language, some visibly shaken lawmakers said the ministries of defence and interior had failed to end “terrorism” and even called for militias to take over.
“Fifty national assembly members have signed a petition calling for popular committees (local militias) to take over security,” said one MP, Khudair al-Khuzai.
Such demands are understandable given the daily violence plaguing Iraq more than two years after Saddam’s overthrow and the collapse of state institutions that followed the war.
“In a country without a state, people will seek security and services in a very ad hoc way,” said Toby Dodge, a London-based Iraq analyst. “They will seek predictability at a very low level, so militias spring up to provide neighbourhood security.”
But sanctioning militias could fuel sectarian tensions, without any guarantee they will have more success than regular forces in halting the nightmare of suicide bombings.
US officials say the bombers pass through a sophisticated network of handlers who offer safe-houses and weapons.
Iraqi forces have discovered workshops in Baghdad which can fit a car with explosives in an hour.
Numerous security crackdowns have failed to crack the networks bringing militants from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen and elsewhere to blow themselves up in Iraq.
The scant information available suggests suicide bombers are fiery but disciplined young men who believe they are carrying out God’s orders. Some make videos of their last prayers and embraces in the desert before leaving on their deadly missions.
Not all are foreigners, however, and greater involvement by Iraqis would complicate the task of security forces even more.
Al Qaeda, which had little appeal to Iraqis during Saddam’s iron rule, appears to have attracted some support.
“We will fight with Al Qaeda and I am willing to blow myself up,” said Saad Emiri, 47, in the guerrilla stronghold of Ramadi.
US training may improve Iraqi security forces but some Iraqis doubt this — one man in an angry crowd in Musayyib the police of collaborating with militants and insurgents.
Some people, like Naziha Alwan, narrowly escaped death.
“I had just left the market before the blast but my friend was still there and she died,” said Alwan, who suffered 11 shrapnel wounds in the leg, from her hospital bed.—Reuters
