Al Qaeda Claims It Killed 31 In Baghdad Raid
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Rockets and mortars rained down yesterday on an upscale, mostly Shiite area of Baghdad, collapsing an apartment house, shattering shops, and killing at least 31 people.
A car bomb also exploded during the attack in the commercial-residential district of Karradah, home to several prominent Shiite politicians. More than 150 people were wounded in the blasts.
Horrified survivors milled about the street hours later, surveying the damage and blaming Sunnis from neighborhoods across the Tigris River. “We are not infidels. It seems that we are not even safe in our homes,” one man said.
A statement posted late yesterday on an Islamist Web site claimed responsibility in the name of the al-Sahaba Soldiers, a part of the Sunni extremist Mujahedeen Shura Council which also includes Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The statement, whose authenticity could not be determined, said the attack was “in response to Shiite crimes” and warned that “we are prepared for many such operations” to punish Shiites for supporting the “crusaders,” or Americans, and the “treacherous” Iraqi government.
