IRAN’S ZARIF VISITS IRAQ
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is visiting the Iraqi capital Baghdad, his first official trip since taking office last month.
Iran and Iraq fought a ruinous war from 1980 to 1988. The two countries have bolstered ties considerably since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims annually now visit Shiite holy sites in Iraq despite ongoing security risks, and Iraq is a major market for Iranian products. Iran has been increasingly cut off from the world’s financial system following multiple rounds of sanctions over its disputed nuclear program. The Iraqi market offers it an important source of hard currency.
The Western-educated Zarif is the highest-ranking Iranian official to visit Iraq since President Hasan Rouhani came to office last month.
— Associated Press
The Iraqi branch of al-Qaida claimed responsibility Sunday for a wave of coordinated car bomb attacks that killed more than 50 people in Baghdad, as two new attacks killed five more in the latest outbreak of violence to hit the country.
The al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, posted a message on a militant website taking responsibility for the deadly attacks last week, mostly in Shiite areas.
The group claimed the attacks were a response to the arrest of Sunnis around the capital during a recent government security crackdown.
“About half a million security members failed to prevent this huge wave of attacks in Baghdad,” the group said.
The authenticity of the statement could not be independently confirmed. It was posted on a website commonly used by jihadists and its style was consistent with earlier al-Qaida statements.
The bombings were the latest in a wave of bloodshed that has swept Iraq since April, killing more than 4,000 people and worsening already strained ties between Iraq’s Sunni minority and the Shiite-led government. More than 570 people have been killed so far in August.
Al-Qaida is hoping to tap into the anger of more moderate Sunnis, who began holding rallies in December against the government over what they feel is their second-class treatment. Among their biggest grievances are the applications of tough anti-terrorism measures they feel unfairly targeting their sect, and the treatment of Sunni detainees in Iraqi prisons.
Meanwhile Sunday, two suicide bombers attacked a police station in the town of Jalula, killing three police officers and a civilian. Police said the first suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt at a security checkpoint at the gate of the police station while the other bomber was killed by guards as he tried to sneak to inside the police station.
Police said that 10 other people, including six officers, were wounded in the dual suicide attack.
Jalula is 80 miles northeast of Baghdad.
In the southeastern edge of Baghdad, authorities said one person was killed and six others wounded when a bomb exploded near a parking lot in Jisr Diyala area.
Medical personnel in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures for all attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
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