147 Killed in Iraq Suicide Bombing | ABC30 Fresno

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By ABC30

Monday, October 26, 2009

LONDON At least 147 people were killed in the deadly blasts that appeared to target two government buildings; the Ministry Of Justice and the Baghdad Provincial Council.

The bombs exploded during the city's rush hour right in the heart of the Baghdad's administrative district, next to the green zone. It was clearly designed to kill as many people as possible.

According to the Iraqi authorities the suicide bombers drove their cars into parking bays by the Ministry Of Justice and a local government office and then detonated them, causing horrific destruction.

But the timing of the bombings has left many fearing that there will be more violent attacks ahead of country's parliamentary elections early next year.

This, after a year which has seen violence dramatically fall in the country following the American-led military surge.

Now, there are troubling questions. Are Iraqi security forces up to the task to prevent the same levels of bloodshed that followed the U.S. led invasion?

President Obama led international condemnation of the attacks, calling them 'hateful' and 'destructive' and offered his full support to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki and to President Talabani.

But these attacks also present a problem for Mr. Obama. The president pledged to have all combat troops out of Iraq by next August, to prepare for a full military drawdown in 2012. If Iraq's security forces are not able to prevent more attacks like these, or if they are still susceptible to infiltration by insurgents, then that is going to call the drawdown into question.