Attacks in Iraq kill 56, target security forces
Associated Press
BAGHDAD
Bombers and gunmen killed at least 56 Iraqis in more than two dozen attacks across the country Wednesday, mostly targeting security forces and rekindling memories of the days when insurgents ruled the streets.
The attacks made August the deadliest month for Iraqi policemen and soldiers in two years, and came a day after the U.S. declared the number of U.S. troops had fallen to fewer than 50,000, their lowest level since the war began in 2003.
Powerful blasts targeting security forces struck where they are supposed to be the safest, turning police stations into rubble and bringing down concrete walls erected to protect them from insurgents.
Iraq’s foreign minister said insurgents are attempting to sow as much chaos as possible, as lawmakers struggle to form a new government and Americans withdraw troops.
“Here you have a government paralysis, you have a political vacuum ... you have the U.S. troop withdrawal,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said. “And, in such environment, these terrorist networks flourish.”
At least 265 security personnel — Iraqi military, police and police recruits, and bodyguards — have been killed from June through August, compared with 180 killed in the previous five months, according to an Associated Press count.
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