Iraq Bombings Kill 14 People

(MENAFN- Arab Times) Separate bombings in and around the Iraqi capital on Sunday killed at least 14 people, officials said, as authorities tightened security measures in Baghdad ahead of a major Shiite religious event that draws thousands of vulnerable pilgrims. The deadliest attack took place in the town of Tarmiyah when a car bomber struck a police and army checkpoint, killing five security force members and wounding 10, a police officer said. The town is about 50 kms (31 miles) north of Baghdad. Another car bomb killed three civilians and wounded eight at an outdoor market in Taji, about 20 kms (12 miles) north of Baghdad, the officer added. In the capital's southern Abu Disher neighborhood, a bomb targeted Shiite pilgrims, killing two and wounding seven. Another civilian was killed and five wounded in a bomb attack in an outdoor market in the northern Baghdad district of Shaab, police added.

The anniversary of the 8th-century Imam Mousa al-Kazim's death draws tens of thousands of Shiites from all walks to converge on his golden-domed shrine in northern Baghdad. The pilgrims typically march to the shrine while hundreds of tents are erected to offer them free food, drinks and services. Also Sunday, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden armored military vehicle into a group of government forces during clashes outside the Islamic State-held city of Fallujah. The attack killed at least three soldiers and wounded seven, an army officer said. Meanwhile, the mayor of an Iraqi town where more than 42 inmates escaped in a prison break claimed by the Islamic State group said Sunday that serious security failures were to blame. The interior ministry said an investigation had been opened into the prison break in Khalis, in a statement issued on Saturday that also mentioned "shortcomings in prison administration". "Lack of intelligence was the main reason behind the prison break. If we had had information, this would not have happened," Uday al-Khadran told AFP by phone. He said that 42 prisoners escaped in Friday's break-out, while 35 others were killed as well as six members of the security forces and three civilians who rushed to help. "The attack was planned, there were IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on the roads," Khadran said, confirming details of the attack provided in the IS claim on Saturday.

He said there were 88 prisoners at the detention facility in Khalis's main police station when the break-out occurred, including "a large number of dangerous terrorists". Khadran said the prisoners had been transferred from a facility in the Diyala provincial capital Baquba a year ago. "I refused that they be put there because it was near the main road and an easy target, but the security authorities did not listen to me," he said. He said that the attack was also a consequence of the fact that areas that have been reconquered from IS, such as Diyala, are then neglected by security forces. "What happened is dangerous, because Khalis is known to be safe and stable" but there are clandestine cells developing in secure areas, away from any scrutiny," Khadran said. He also said that the influx of people displaced from other regions had a negative impact on security. "All of these are the reasons that made this attack possible," he said.