Over 50 die in series of car bombing in Baghdad on 10 year anniversary of US invasion
Car bombs and roadside blasts killed at least 56 people and injured hundreds of others across Baghdad on the 10th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.
Security forces increased checkpoint searches, closed off key roads, but the damage has been done.
photo US Army Joint Salute
Insurgents sent a bloody message and a reminder of how divided Iraq remains more than year after the American troops withdrawal. Over 200 are reported injured.
The symbolism of Tuesday’s attacks was strong, coming 10 years to the day, Washington time, that President George W. Bush announced the start of hostilities against Iraq. It was March 20, 2003, in Iraq when the airstrikes began.
The military action quickly ousted Saddam Hussein but led to years of bloodshed as Sunni and Shiite militants battled U.S. forces and each other, leaving nearly 4,500 Americans and more than 100,000 Iraqis dead.
The attacks come as the cabinet announced on Tuesday that it would postpone provincial elections in two provinces that were scheduled for April by up to six months over security concerns.
Ali Mussawi, the Iraqi premier’s spokesman, said that candidates had been threatened and killed, while there were also requests for a delay from the two provinces. Several provincial elections candidates have also been killed in attacks in recent weeks.
