15 Killed in Baghdad, Shattering Growing Calm
Blast Is Deadliest In City in Months; Nine Die in Mosul

By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, November 24, 2007; A08

BAGHDAD, Nov. 23 -- The man walked into the crowded al-Ghazl animal market Friday, past police checkpoints and barricades, Humvees and Iraqi soldiers. An hour or so earlier, a U.S. patrol had passed through the market. He carried a bomb, hidden in a box containing birds for sale, witnesses said.

Shortly after 9 a.m., the bomb detonated, killing 15 people and injuring 55, according to Iraqi police, although the U.S. military said the death toll was eight. Those at the market were Iraqi civilians of different sects reviving a tradition that stretched back more than 100 years, when their fathers and grandfathers might have visited al-Ghazl every Friday, often bringing their children.

The attack was the deadliest in the capital in more than 2 1/2 months, delivering a blow to a rising sense of confidence among Iraqis that their nation is becoming more secure.

"I saw people flying in the air and hitting the ground," said Fadhil Hussein, a bearded pushcart vendor. "Everyone was panicking. There was smoke everywhere. The sound was so loud that it hurt my ears. They still hurt."

As he looked at the ground, still splotched with blood two hours after the blast, he added: "They are trying to sabotage our country. They don't want our security restored."

To his left, sandals of the victims had been swept into a pile, along with shredded clothing, mangled plastic containers and other charred debris. To his right, a bird vendor, his head wrapped in a white bandage, was cursing.

Dead birds were scattered as far as 50 yards from the market. The walls of a nearby building were pocked by shrapnel. Ball bearings lay on the ground, suggesting that the bomb had been packed with them to produce maximum casualties.

"There are pieces of human flesh even on the rooftops," said Alla Hussein, 30, a vendor of industrial cables.

A few hours later, two bombs exploded, moments apart, in the northern city of Mosul shortly after the Friday afternoon prayer, killing six police officers and three civilians and injuring 21 others, said police Brig. Gen. Saed al-Jubouri. In a third blast in Mosul, gunmen detonated a truck bomb on a key bridge, severely damaging the structure.

Friday's attacks underscored the still potent threat of extremists, even as the country is experiencing a downturn in the levels of violence following a nine-month-long security offensive involving 30,000 U.S. reinforcements.

Northern Iraq, in particular, has become more violent, with fighters of the militant group al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents moving there as U.S. and Iraqi military operations intensified in Baghdad and elsewhere, Army Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, the top American commander in northern Iraq, warned this month.

The pet market has long attracted those seeking to prevent Iraqis from trying to lead a normal life amid chaos and uncertainty. In January, a bomb hidden in a box containing pigeons killed 15 people. Last December, a mortar shell landed in the market, killing three people. And in June 2006, two bombs, detonating one after the other, killed five.

Today, the market and other nearby shops are sealed off from vehicle traffic to prevent car bombs. At one end of the barricaded street, Iraqi Humvees and soldiers stand guard. U.S. troops regularly patrol al-Ghazl and the surrounding commercial area.

In recent weeks, the market had regained some of its past popularity after the government lifted a four-hour Friday ban on driving vehicles, imposed to safeguard mosques and worshipers. Iraqis once again began to spend their Fridays, the start of the weekend in Iraq, at the market, where birds, fish, dogs, snakes and other animals are sold.

Shopkeepers said they had mixed feelings about seeing the crowds return to al-Ghazl. It was good for business, but they worried that the area would become a target again. Still, they understood the mood of their countrymen.

"People are not convinced about the security," said Ahmed Muhammad, 35, one of the shopkeepers. "They are challenging the danger by going out. They refuse to stay inside their houses for the rest of their lives. When they see people out in the streets, it encourages you to go out."

Friday's attack highlighted the area's vulnerability, despite the heavy security. Shopkeepers complained that soldiers were not checking people's bags or boxes for bombs. Others said it was impossible to prevent someone from staging an attack, no matter how many troops protected the area.

"There are a lot of small paths that lead into the market," Hussein said, as he stood near a small pool of blood and a dead, green-feathered bird. "They can't put checkpoints on every single road. It's not hard to bring in a bomb. Today, all this security collapsed. There are still fathers and mothers who do not know their sons have been killed."

"We have one attitude -- God is saving us, not the checkpoints or the soldiers," Muhammad said.

As he spoke, the market was coming back to life, in another illustration of the resilience Iraqis have shown after countless attacks since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

One vendor was selling birds again. A few feet away, the man with the bandaged head was shooing away children as he cleaned out his store. Hundreds of people with somber faces still milled around the area.

Not everyone shared the sense of determination, though.

"We expect that the security could collapse again very soon," said shopkeeper Imad Manfi, 39. "The confidence in each other is not there. The trust between people is not there. Perhaps next Friday, no one will come to the market."

Special correspondent Dlovan Brwari in Mosul contributed to this report.