Mid-Week Bombings Call Into Question Iraqi Security

Four separate bombings occurred in the al-Rashidiya district of Baghdad between Tuesday, July 12th and Wednesday, July 13th.  The district, widely known as a Shiite neighborhood, was bombarded by waves of explosions, including two suicide attacks, that targeted both security personnel and civilians.

All of the attacks that occurred between the two day period bore the hallmark of Islamic State, which ultimately claimed responsibility for the mid-week bombings.

The initial attack came on Tuesday at an outdoor vegetable and fruit market that is heavily populated with Shiite civilians. According to police reports, in the early morning, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the market center, managing to kill twelve people and injure several others.

One day later, Islamic State allegedly coordinated several bombings in the same al-Rashidiya district. A suicide bomber again used a vehicle packed with explosives, but this time at a security checkpoint in the northern Baghdad area of al-Rashidiya. The suicide bombing managed to kill seven individuals, while two other explosions killed four.

Wednesday’s attack occurred on the eve of a large military parade which was scheduled to take place in Baghdad. The celebration was meant to mark the anniversary of the 1958 overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy and the declaration of Iraq as a Republic.

Additionally, the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday occurred while the Iraqi Parliament was expected to make security decisions following the attack in Karada bombing that occurred one week prior on July 3rd. On Friday, July 8th, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi accepted the resignation of interior minister Mohammed al-Ghabban while firing the city’s head of security operation and other senior officials in the wake of the deadly attack on Karada.

Heavy scrutiny has been placed on Prime Minister Abadi and his government’s need to increase security checkpoints across the country. Presently, the security situation in Iraq has not demonstrated the level of progress that might have been expected, given gains made in taking territory from the Islamic State. Ultimately, the mid-week Baghdad bombings illustrate the difference between the level of ability necessary to drive jihadist groups out of territory, as opposed to establishing genuine security.