Baghdad's Green Zone hit by barrage of blasts

[cal04]

Source: Reuters

Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi parliament and U.S. embassy, was hit by a sustained barrage of rocket or mortar bomb fire early on Sunday, witnesses and officials said.

It was not immediately clear where most of the missiles landed or if there were any casualties after an apparent attack lasting about 15 minutes, Reuters witnesses said.

(snip)
A large plume of thick black smoke could be seen rising from one area of central Baghdad's Green Zone, which houses many government ministries and diplomatic missions. Sirens could be heard warning people to take cover.

At least two U.S. attack helicopters could be seen circling over an area in the Iraqi capital's northeast soon after the attack.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23697768.htm

[MadMaddie]

1. TeT offensive anyone...? I am sure Condi and friends will say

that they never expected anything like that to happen to the Green Zone!:sarcasm:

Just like in Vietnam our soldiars are sitting on a bullseye...that's why we have to get them out of there. The Republicans have screwed up any chance of winning...whatever the definition of winning is.

[cyclezealot]

2. another version of shock and awe. ?

[Supersedeas]

30. this one will not be commemorated by CNN

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. Of course they'll blame it on splinter groups of al-Sadr's people again

Since they're Shia it's much easier to link Iran with them.

There's no chance at all that some of these people could even be the former members of the prized (and by vast majority Sunni) "Awakening" group which is losing members even faster than the US can accidentally kill them. No, it couldn't be them or any other Iraqis that are simply sick and tired of the US occupying their country.

[annabanana]

22. The "Sunni Awakening" guys haven't been paid lately.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/02/27/ST2008022703992.html

"His men also have not received their salaries in two months, he said. "We'll all be patient for another two months. If nothing changes, then we'll suspend and quit," Kassim said. "Then we'll go back to fighting the Americans."

[noel adamson]

4. The Green zone (The Emerald City?) is manifest arrogance...

...and all of those Old Testament "Christian" right folks should know that "pride comes before the fall"... On that note, while I'm churning out old quotes, William Blake said that "pride is the cloak of folly".

Let's hope we get our kids the hell out of Iraq and find a way to attempt at least some measure of restitution to the Iraqi people.

[heliarc]

5. Happy Easter Everybody! nt

[InsultComicDog]

7. happy hippity hoppity n/t

[InsultComicDog]

6. Hillary, Sherryl, and Sinbad

are nowhere near there, I bet :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[CreekDog]

8. So

[ConcernedCanuk]

9. What you have there, is a picture of the most powerful man in the World

.
.
.

and Evil.

[truth2power]

27. Looks like there's a black cloud hanging over his head...Fitting! n/t

[Selatius]

10. Iraq's insurgency just gave America a hearty "FUCK YOU" in the form of a mortar barrage.

If we thought Baghdad was secure, this is a reminder that we shouldn't underestimate the resistance.

[Festivito]

11. Taking advantage of possible Easter unreadiness?

Still, it should not be so easy.

[Deny and Shred]

12. Imagine if they really did have chemical or biological weapons n/t

[Vinca]

13. A few days earlier and the cheerleading squad would have been there:

McCain, Graham, Lieberbush and Cheney.

[Doctor_J]

17. Yes, their timing was a little bit off

better luck next time

[greyghost]

19. Indeed

[cal04]

14. Suicide bomb kills 13 Iraqi soldiers

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080323/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

A suicide car bomber killed at least 13 Iraqi soldiers and wounded dozens more people in Iraq's north on Sunday. Meanwhile, the U.S.-protected Green Zone in Baghdad came under fire from either mortars or rockets, and a round that fell short injured two bystanders.

The Easter Sunday attacks underscored the fragility of Iraq's security, despite a decline in violence over the past year. They also came as the U.S. military death toll in Iraq nears 4,000.

Iraqi security forces opened fire on the bomber as he drove toward the military base in the northwestern city of Mosul but were unable to foil the attack because the truck's windshield had been made bullet-proof.

The attacker blasted through an armored vehicle to reach the courtyard of the military headquarters, according to an Iraqi army officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

Police said at least 13 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 42 people wounded — 30 soldiers and 12 civilians — in the attack. Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, has been described by the U.S. as the last urban stronghold of the Sunni-led al-Qaida in Iraq.

[maddezmom]

15. 37 killed in Iraq bloodshed by Salam Faraj

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A series of attacks across Iraq on Sunday killed 37 people, and insurgents fired a barrage of mortar fire at Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, sending US embassy staff scurrying into bunkers.

The deadliest attack was in the main northern city of Mosul when a suicide bomber crashed an explosives-laden truck into an Iraqi army base, sparking a blast that killed 10 soldiers and wounded 30 others, mostly soldiers, officer Major Mohammed Ahmed told AFP.

"The bomber smashed the truck through barriers at the entrance to the base and triggered the explosion" at around 7 am (0400 GMT), said Ahmed.

more;http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080323/wl_afp/iraqunrest_080323112653;_ylt=AvH7HKruIMWmcmzgO6BQfySQOrgF

[farmbo]

16. Better run another truckload of cash out to al Satr's folks...eom

[annabanana]

23. And another truckload to the "Sunni Awakening" before they turn

our rifles on us.

[greyghost]

18. Obviously Bush Co./Cheney Inc. missed another payment!

[JohnyCanuck]

20. I guess we should still thank God and the Chimperor for the surge.

Imagine how much worse it would be if the surge were not working so effectively.

[spanone]

21. i can't find mention of this in any mainstream media sources....

[BlueinBushCountry]

24. How can this be? Don't they know

the surge is working?

[NewJeffCT]

25. It's all the fault of the librul media, reporting the bad news

and ignoring the fact that millions of Iraqis did not get killed today!

[laststeamtrain]

26. AFP: 47 killed in Iraq bloodshed

47 killed in Iraq bloodshed

by Salam Faraj1 hour, 9 minutes ago

A wave of attacks across Iraq on Sunday killed 47 people, while insurgents fired a barrage of mortars at Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, sending US embassy staff scurrying into bunkers.

The deadliest attack was in the main northern city of Mosul where a suicide bomber crashed an explosives-laden truck into an Iraqi army base, triggering a blast that killed 10 soldiers and wounded 30 other people, mostly soldiers, army officer Major Mohammed Ahmed told AFP.

"The bomber smashed the truck through barriers at the entrance to the base and triggered the explosion" at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT), said Ahmed.

Iraqi and US troops are engaged in a major offensive against Al-Qaeda in Mosul, which according to US commanders is the jihadists' last urban stronghold in Iraq...http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080323/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest_080323132710

[notadmblnd]

28. I'm sure they were just lobbing chocolate Easter eggs

to show how happy they are that we are still there after 5 years. :sarcasm:

[Supersedeas]

29. nothing to see here -- feed them more tripe about the surge working