AFP
June 11, 2009
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday warned that attacks could increase in the coming weeks ahead of the US troop pullout from urban areas, after a deadly car bomb hit the south of the country.
Police arrested two men, including an Al-Qaeda member, in connection with Wednesday’s blast in a market in Batha, which killed 19 people and wounded 56 — the bloodiest attack in Iraq since May 20.
[efoods]The bombing, in the largely peaceful southern province of Dhi Qar, came three weeks ahead of the planned June 30 withdrawal of US troops from cities and major towns, which Maliki warned would be a lightning rod for insurgents and militias.
“The attacks will be stronger, they will try to give the impression that Iraqi forces have failed in their duty with the withdrawal of multinational forces approaching,” he said in a speech to ministers and generals in Baghdad.
Maliki said Wednesday’s car bombing carried a “political message,” saying: “Attacking a market is an attempt to bring back sectarianism, but the people are careful not to allow a return to sectarianism.”
In Dhi Qar, police detained two men over the bombing, which destroyed cars and market stalls and left much of the scene splattered with blood.
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