Violence at Iraq Central
Bank Kills 15
By ANTHONY SHADID
The New York Times, June 13, 2010
BAGHDAD – Attackers wearing military uniforms tried to storm the Central Bank of Iraq on Sunday, setting off explosions and triggering gun battles with the police and soldiers that lasted hours during the afternoon rush and paralyzed parts of the capital. At least 15 people were killed and 50 were wounded, officials said.
The bedlam in the crowded neighborhood, filled with banks, markets and shops, came a day before Iraq’s new parliament was to convene, underscoring the deep sense of uncertainty here over when a new government will be formed after months of deadlock. The scene itself was reminiscent of the strife that the country experienced during the worst sectarian bloodshed in 2006 and 2007, when Iraq teetered on the edge of anarchy.
In the pandemonium, bystanders, employees and shoppers ran for cover. Witnesses said many were killed or wounded in the crossfire between attackers and the police. For hours, ambulances ferried the wounded from the neighborhood.
“A disaster. The scene was terrifying,” a shop owner. Raji Mohammed, said “I didn’t know whether they were roadside bombs, mortars, suicide bombers or car bombs.”
Fires burning into the evening in the bank’s parking lot sent black plumes of smoke into the sky. Frightened employees remained huddled inside the Central Bank, afraid to leave even after the shooting had subsided, witnesses said.
Police speculated that the attackers may have been trying to rob the bank. Sunday is the first day of the week in Iraq, when banks are thought to carry particularly large deposits. Gunmen made off with gold from jewelers last week in the southern city of Basra, killing three people, and a similar gold heist last month in Baghdad killed 15.
“You can’t count out theft,” said Abdul Hussain al-Yasiri, head of the neighboring Rafidain Bank. “The gunmen tried to enter” the Central Bank, “but guards fought them off.”
But the attack also bore hallmarks of past insurgent campaigns — strikes requiring a degree of planning against high-profile targets in the hope of unleashing a deadly spectacle.
There were conflicting accounts over how Sunday’s carnage began — whether the explosion were the work of suicide bombers or roadside explosives, and how many there were.
But most accounts suggested a high level of planning for the attack, which began about 2:30 p.m., when most bank employees were leaving.
“All of a sudden it was like a battlefield, with gunfire and explosions,” said Mr. Yasiri, whose bank shares the neighborhood with the Central Bank and Rashid Bank.
Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, the military spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command, said the assailants tried to storm two bank entrances and traded gunfire with guards. Two of the men, strapped with explosives; another two explosions occurred at a third bank entrance, General Atta said.
Other officials said the blasts set fire to gas tanks supplying a nearby generator. Fires also burned inside the bank, General Atta said, destroying some records and files. It took hours for firefighting crews to extinguish the blazes.
“Given the importance of the target, the operation was well planned,” he said.
The fighting paralyzed parts of Baghdad, as authorities shut down at least four bridges that connect the city across the Tigris River. Police prevented journalists from entering the area of the clashes, where gunfire lasted into the late afternoon.
The neighborhood around the Central Bank is one of the more fortified in a barricaded city, with traffic banned from some nearby streets.
“All this happened, even with a thousand security guards here?” asked Omar Hakim, the owner of a café down the street from the explosions and gunfire.
The attack came amid growing frustration over the lack of progress in forming a government, more than three months after the March 7 election. Negotiations have picked up ahead of Monday’s scheduled session of parliament, but even optimistic politicians acknowledge that progress has been limited and it could be weeks, even months before a government is agreed on.
“I just want to know what the politicians are doing other than fighting for their thrones,” said Yasser Mohammed, an employee of another bank. “People are being killed every day, our money is being taken in front of our eyes, and no one can do anything.”
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