http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4226818

Quote :

"Female Bombers Strike Markets in Baghdad 2 Mentally Retarded Female Bombers Strike Pet Markets in Baghdad, Killing at Least 73 By KIM GAMEL The Associated Press BAGHDAD Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two mentally retarded women detonated in a coordinated attack on Baghdad pet bazaars Friday, Iraqi officials said, killing at least 73 people in the deadliest day since the U.S. sent 30,000 extra troops to the capital last spring. The chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said the female bombers had Down syndrome and that the explosives were detonated by remote control indicating they may not having been willing attackers in what could be a new method by suspected Sunni insurgents to subvert stepped up security measures. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the use of mentally retarded women as suicide bombers proves al-Qaida is "the most brutal and bankrupt of movements" and will strengthen Iraqi resolve to reject terrorism. The first attack Friday occurred at about 10:20 a.m. in the central al-Ghazl market. The weekly bazaar has been bombed several times since the war started but recently had re-emerged as a popular place to shop and stroll as Baghdad security improved and a Friday ban on driving was lifted. Four police and hospital officials said at least 46 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Firefighters scooped up debris scattered among pools of blood, clothing and pigeon carcasses. About 20 minutes later, a second female suicide bomber struck a bird market in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern Baghdad. That blast killed as many as 27 people and wounded 67, according to police and hospital officials. One witness who declined to be identified told AP Television News that the woman said she had birds to sell, then blew herself up as people gathered around to inspect them. The attacks were the latest in a series of violent incidents that have been chipping away at Iraqi confidence in the permanence of recent security gains. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said about 70 people were killed in both attacks, which he said were committed by terrorists motivated by revenge and "to show that they are still able to stop the march of history and of our people toward reconciliation." Police initially said the bomb at al-Ghazl market was hidden in a box of birds but determined it was a suicide attack after finding the woman's head, an officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information. Pigeon vendor Ali Ahmed, who was hit by shrapnel in his legs and chest, said he was worried about his friend who disappeared after the blast about 40 yards away. "I just remember the horrible scene of the bodies of dead and wounded people mixed with the blood of animals and birds, then I found myself lying in a hospital bed," he said. Navy Cmdr. Scott Rye, a U.S. military spokesman, gave lower casualty figures, saying seven were killed and 23 wounded in the first bombing, and 20 killed and 30 wounded in the second. He confirmed both attacks were carried out by women wearing explosives vests and said the attacks appeared to be coordinated and likely the work of al-Qaida in Iraq. Associated Press records show that since the start of the war at least 151 people have been killed in at least 17 attacks or attempted attacks by female suicide bombers, including today's bombings. The most recent was on Jan. 16 when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives as Shiites were preparing for a ceremony marking the holiday of Ashoura in a Shiite village near the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba. Involving women in fighting violates cultural taboos in Iraq, but the U.S. military has warned that al-Qaida in Iraq is recruiting females and youths to stage suicide attacks because militants are increasingly desperate to thwart stepped-up security measures. Women in Iraq often wear a black Islamic robe known as an abaya and can avoid thorough searches at checkpoints because men are not allowed to search them and there's a dearth of female guards. In January 2005, Iraq's interior minister said that insurgents used a disabled child as one of the suicide bombers who launched attacks on election day. Police at the scene of the bombing said the child appeared to have Down syndrome. A bomb hidden in a box of small birds also exploded at the al-Ghazl market in late November, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens. The U.S. military blamed the November attack on Iranian-backed Shiite militants, saying they had hoped al-Qaida in Iraq would be held responsible for the attack so Iraqis would turn to them for protection. The U.S. military has been unable to stop the suicide bombings despite a steep drop in violence in the past six months, but the explosions on Friday were the deadliest in the capital since Aug. 1, when some 70 people were killed in three attacks, including 50 in a fuel truck explosion in Baghdad. Rae Muhsin, the 21-year-old owner of a cell phone store, said he was walking toward the New Baghdad bird market in southeastern Baghdad when the blast occurred, shattering the windows of nearby stores. "I ran toward the bird market and saw charred pieces of flesh, small spots of blood and several damaged cars," Muhsin said, adding he will no longer visit the Friday market. "I thought that we had achieved real security in Baghdad, but it turned that we were wrong." The number of Iraqi civilians and security forces killed in January fell to at least 609, an Associated Press tally showed, the lowest monthly death toll since December 2005, and continuing a downward trend since the fall. The figure as tabulated by Iraqi officials in the ministries of Defense, Interior and Health was slightly lower, at 543. U.S. forces, meanwhile, have expanded offensives in central and northern Iraq, seeking to build on gains against al-Qaida in Iraq in the past year. But the latest campaigns also have driven up the military's death toll after months of decline. Two U.S. soldiers were killed Thursday one by a roadside bomb in Baghdad and another by a rocket or mortar attack on a convoy support center south of the capital, the military reported. The attacks raised to at least 39 the number of U.S. troops who died in January well above the 23 in December but still sharply lower than a year ago. In January last year, 83 soldiers were killed in Iraq. Associated Press writers Hamid Ahmed and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures "

2/1/2008 2:13:47 PM

fuck this was meant for TSB o well

2/1/2008 2:14:17 PM

i lolled


and i dont know why

2/1/2008 2:14:57 PM

So

To whom do we send drunknloaded's contact info?

2/1/2008 2:15:01 PM

words

2/1/2008 2:15:04 PM

what the hell is wrong with those people seriously

how fucked up in the head do you have to be to even think up something like that...

2/1/2008 2:15:40 PM

if you're strapping a bomb to yourself of the sole purpose of detonating your body to kill as many civilians as possible, chances are you weren't a bastion of mental fortitude to begin with

2/1/2008 2:17:36 PM

this war is awesome!

2/1/2008 2:17:48 PM

Short Version:

Terrorists in Iraq use women with Down Syndrome to conduct suicide bombings. They send a downy in to the market who tells everyone she has birds to sell, once a crowd gathers they detonate, blowing the retarded women and all who are close by to smithereens.

2/1/2008 2:22:01 PM

this is so retarded

2/1/2008 2:22:28 PM

if i was a terrorist i'd have an initial suicide bomber go somewhere and blow something up, then i'd send in another suicide bomber to go and "help" pull out all the survivors/victims of the first attack, and then have the 2nd guy blow himself up when all the emergency personal and whatever came to the blast site.


can you imagine how horrible that would be? no one would want to go help the victims.

i really wish they thought about this and decided against it out of ethics.

2/1/2008 4:17:03 PM

Quote :

"decided against it out of ethics."

Dream on.

2/1/2008 4:21:09 PM

so i guess they haven't thought about having a 2nd suicide bomber?

2/1/2008 4:21:46 PM

Quote :

"this is so retarded"

LOL......ISWYDT

2/1/2008 4:23:33 PM

it's the victim's fault that they died. they shouldn't have attempted to purchase birds while their country is in a war.

2/1/2008 4:25:08 PM

why is it worse that she was "retarded"?

can't this be viewed as progress in the acceptance of mental retards by society?

I mean,

this woman, with down syndrome, is treated the same as a "normal" person

she probably volunteered, wanting to prove that she was just as capable as everyone else

I say hooray for her




oh and, I condemn the bombing

2/1/2008 4:26:30 PM

Quote :

"if i was a terrorist i'd have an initial suicide bomber go somewhere and blow something up, then i'd send in another suicide bomber to go and "help" pull out all the survivors/victims of the first attack, and then have the 2nd guy blow himself up when all the emergency personal and whatever came to the blast site."

[old]

It was in that somewhat new Jamie Fox/Jennifer Garner movie that just came out on DVD.

2/1/2008 4:30:14 PM

Quote :

"It was in that somewhat new Jamie Fox/Jennifer Garner movie that just came out on DVD."

oh werd? haven't seen that.

2/1/2008 4:32:19 PM

uh, duh

^
[older than that]


it's also been on the news for over five years

suicide bombers FREQUENTLY employ 2nd bombs targeting first responders

did you seriously not know that?


how could you not know that?

[Edited on February 1, 2008 at 4:43 PM. Reason : ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^]

2/1/2008 4:39:27 PM

In before drawing parallels between this and the US using poor kids to fight wars.

2/1/2008 4:56:29 PM

i donno, i don't listen to the news.

2/1/2008 5:01:02 PM

Quote :

"In before drawing parallels between this and the US using poor kids to fight wars."

Probably not gonna happen, I think the extreme leftists congregate in TSB not chit chat.

2/1/2008 5:02:30 PM

Quote :

"if i was a terrorist i'd have an initial suicide bomber go somewhere and blow something up, then i'd send in another suicide bomber to go and "help" pull out all the survivors/victims of the first attack, and then have the 2nd guy blow himself up when all the emergency personal and whatever came to the blast site."

They do that all the time.

It's not like mentally healthy women are given any more respect by Wahabbists.

2/1/2008 5:04:49 PM

there's a special circle in the inferno for these chaps

2/1/2008 5:07:03 PM