Violence Sweeps Baghdad

Violence has escalated in Baghdad in the weeks after the Iraqi parliamentary elections, leading to civilian casualties and a growing concern over the Iraqi government’s capacity to instill security, with the exit of many United States combat troops from the region slated for the end of this summer.

This Tuesday, seven bombings in residential areas of the capital – both Shiite and Sunni – left 35 people dead and over 140 wounded. This past Sunday, the area surrounding the Egyptian, Iranian, Spanish, and German embassies in the capital were hit with three suicide attacks, each within five minutes of each other, killing 41 and wounding over 200.  Combined, the Tuesday and Sunday bombings represent the largest outbreaks of violence in Iraq since January 25, when hotel bombings claimed the lives of 36 individuals.

According to a New York Times article released this Tuesday, U.S. Embassy adviser Gary Grappo stated that the attacks “bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda organization seeking to display its ability to strike at will.” The series of bombings, mimicking the 2005 post-election increase of violence in Iraq, arrive while politicians negotiate the creation of a new Iraqi government. The March 7 elections left both current Prime Minister Kamil Nuri al-Maliki and rival Ayad Allawi far from securing a majority of parliamentary seats needed. The political impasse in which both parties scramble to gather enough votes to has been tinged with a backdrop of increased violence that may undermine the legitimacy of the democratic process in Iraq.

Maliki was in charge of appointing the military officials in charge of securing the capital, a fact which Allawi, the former interim leader of Iraq during 2004, was quick to point out while criticizing the current administration’s failure to install order and protection. While the allegations of government incapacity have been denied by al-Maliki government officials, the finger-pointing suggests the tensions that might fuel further political conflict in the country.

In 2005, it took 5 months for a coalition government to emerge successfully from the sectarian environment that dominates Iraqi politics. At the time, in contrast to the current elections, American troops were not scheduled to leave their peacekeeping role quite so soon.