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Bombing in Iraq Kills Mostly Children
Falah Jabbar, his wife and their 4-day-old daughter arrive at a hospital in eastern Baghdad after they were wounded in a suicide bombing.
(By Khalid Mohammed -- Associated Press)
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In the north Baghdad neighborhood of Rabee, 11 Sunnis who had been taken from their homes Wednesday morning were found dead, said Adnan Dulaimi, a Sunni leader who heads the government's Sunni Endowment. "We ask the government to investigate, as these people were arrested at dawn during curfew time without any warrant. Now, when anyone is arrested, his family expects him dead within a few days," Dulaimi said.
The Reuters news agency reported that angry mourners carrying the coffins of three of the men through the streets put the number of dead at 13 or 14 and said the bodies showed signs of torture. The Iraqi Interior Ministry said the incident was being investigated, Reuters reported.
Iraqi police have been accused of abuses with increasing frequency in recent weeks, notably the deaths by suffocation of 10 Sunni men who were arrested Sunday and left in a shipping container in Baghdad's searing heat. Sunnis accuse the police, made up predominantly of Shiites because many Sunnis have shunned any association with Iraq's government, of carrying out sectarian vendettas. Police officials have denied such accusations.
After the suicide bombing Wednesday, most of the dead and wounded were taken to nearby Kindi Hospital. While the parents of Amjad and other children who were killed bitterly mourned their losses, those whose loved ones had been spared were thankful.
As Zahra Abdulla walked slowly behind the wheelchair that was carrying her son, Talal Ali, 9, out of surgery on his wounded left leg, she recalled the bedlam she witnessed when she rushed out of her house upon hearing the explosion. "Blood and bits of flesh were everywhere. I was lucky I found Talal and brought him here," said Abdullah, 28. "Thank God, his condition is better than the others. I feel terrible for the other boys. Why are they attacking children?"
In the shattered neighborhood, children's shoes and sandals lay in the street. Piles of ruined possessions pulled from the wrecked homes still smoldered a few hours after the attack. Neighbors argued over whether the Americans should be blamed for attracting the children and creating a target.
A woman whose son had been wounded and taken to the hospital said responsibility lay solely with the insurgents and their leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi. "I swear to God," said the woman, who identified herself as Umm Salam, "if my son dies, I will drink from Zarqawi's blood."
Special correspondents Naseer Nouri and Bassam Sebti contributed to this report.
