"Insurgents" Use Children in Car Bomb - Blow Them Up...

Iraq insurgents used children in car bombing

Insurgents in Iraq detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle with two children in the back seat after US soldiers let it through a Baghdad checkpoint over the weekend, a senior US military official said Tuesday.
The vehicle was stopped at the checkpoint but was allowed through when soldiers saw the children in the back, said Major General Michael Barbero of the Pentagon's Joint Staff.

"Children in the back seat lowered suspicion. We let it move through. They parked the vehicle, and the adults ran out and detonated it with the children in the back," Barbero said.

The general said it was the first time he had seen a report of insurgents using children in suicide bombings. But he said Al-Qaeda in Iraq is changing tactics in response to the tighter controls around the city.

A US defense official said the incident occurred on Sunday in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district, a mixed neighborhood adjacent to Sadr City, which is predominantly Shiite.

After going through the checkpoint, the vehicle parked next to a market across the street from a school, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

"And the two adults were seen to get out of the vehicle, and run from the vehicle, and then followed by the detonation of the vehicle," the official said.


"It killed the two children inside as well as three other civilians in the vicinity. So, a total of five killed, seven injured," the official said.

Officials here said they did not know who the children were or their relationship to the two adults who fled the scene. They had no information about their ages or genders.

"The brutality and the ruthlessness of this enemy hasn't changed," said Barbero, deputy director of regional operations of the Joint Staff. "They are just interested in slaughtering Iraqi civilians, to be very honest."

Attacks on Iraqi civilians are down by a third and sectarian murders have fallen by 50 percent since mid-February when US and Iraqi forces began moving into Baghdad as part of a new security crackdown, the general said.

On the other hand, there has been no let-up in attacks on US forces by Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni extremist groups, he said.

The incidence of car bombings and suicide attacks, which are typically carried out by Sunni extremist groups against Shiites, also have gone up even though their effectiveness is down, he said.

"As our checkpoints, and control points have been more effective, as they try to execute these high profile attacks with these vehicle-borne IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in Baghdad, we're stopping a lot of them at these checkpoints and they are not getting to their intended targets," he said.

But he said they will change their tactics.


Barbero pointed to the recent use of chlorine bombs as another example of the shifting tactics.

Three trucks with chlorine were blown up by suicide bombers over the weekend in Al-Anbar province, killing two policemen and releasing toxic fumes that sickened an estimated 350 people.

Barbero said Al-Qaeda in Iraq appeared to be resorting to use of chlorine bombs to intimidate tribal leaders that have turned against them in Al-Anbar.

"We assess those as relatively ineffective. However, that is an emerging tactic that we are seeing."

"We think it will continue to be exercised in Iraq. Chlorine is readily accessible and we've had a number of these," he said.

He said US commanders remain concerned about the Shiite militias led by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, even though US forces are now operating freely in Sadr City and his Mahdi army militia is quiet.

Sadr is still in Iran but in communication with leaders of his movement in Iraq, he said.

"Where we are with the leaders of his movement is at a pretty delicate point, and I probably don't want to talk any more about his followers, and where we are in our relationship with them," he said.

The bomb in the baby carriage was wired through the ... baby....

Mama? BOOM.

Wouldn't that include the children? Or, were you saying just all of the adults?

Either way, Great idea. If we nuke 'em it would be fairly clean with few casualties on our side.

S(we must be outta options)quinney

Re: "Insurgents" Use Children in Car Bomb - Blow T


While I wouldn't put it in those exact terms, those people - their culture, beliefs and actions - are far different than ours. There is nothing for us to win over there; we should just leave them be.
The U.S. can't save the whole world, and we have enough of our own problems with which to deal.

Just take the kid gloves off and get back down to business.

The sunnis are the insurgents and they have been the ones who started the "sectarian murders" in order to incite a civil war. They are also the ones who typically use road side bombs against Shiites and US and coalition troops. I am not surprised they used children while running away to let them die. Yet we are so concerned about Shiite militias. It just makes absolutely no sense to me. Why are we not raiding Sunni strongholds, why are concentrating so much on Sadr City and other Shiite areas?

The Shiites have stood down during this so called surge. That is why violence is down. (as I have said on the Iraq thread) However, the Sunnis are still going just as much as ever. I think we should let the Shiites protect their own and go home. Sure it will get messy and more people will die (they are anyway), but just maybe the Sunnis will realize they are outnumbered and will give in if we are not there. In any event we can't fix this ourselves no matter how long we stay. We sure can't keep up the numbers we have in there now during this surge. Just as soon as this surge is over, the Shiite militias will start doing what they were doing which was mainly just protecting themselves against the insurgents from what I can tell. (doing it in a way I don't condone with the death squads and torture though, but really what can we do about all this?)

I'm shocked SHOCKED! to hear that the insurgents are using cruel and inhuman tactics.

Sounds like something a cowardly liberal would say.

Re: "Insurgents" Use Children in Car Bomb - Blow T


Thank God and heaven and the earth for that....

The Irony is that we, the moron in chief, started it all.

Somehow I disagree.

How old are you au? Where were you in 1991?

Oh, now, McG, I am going to lay down and cry.

This type savagery was never heard of during Saddam's reign.

Congratulations Dubya!

He just gassed them instead of blowing them up.

U funny zippy.

Are you saying that Iraqi insurgents were attacking US in 1991?

Old enough to remember the depression and certainly old enough to remember the gulf war.

Bush invasion of Iraq was certainly not a result of the gulf war. In fact had he listened to his father or had even the slightest inkling of the history of the region and it's people he would not have invaded. The result of his criminal actions were foreseen and inevitable. There is no doubt in my mind he will be remembered by history along with the other worlds villians

The gas claim has been proven to be false. Iranians did the gassing.

I can tell by your avatar you've been drinking the Koolaid.