July 22, 2013

Attacks on two large prisons outside Baghdad resulted in the deaths of at least 25 Iraqi security guards this morning. At the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, hundreds of convicts, including senior members of al-Qa’ida in Mesopotamia, broke out as the militants carried out their military-style assault. (Al-Qa’ida in Mesopotamia is an Iraqi offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization. In Iraq, the organization is made up of Sunni insurgents.)

Sectarian violence is once again on the rise in Iraq, especially in and around Baghdad and in the northern city of Mosul. (World Book map).

In the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a suicide car-bomber targeting Iraqi security forces left another 22 soldiers and 3 passers-by dead today. A separate attack in western Mosul killed 4 policemen.

Experts on the situation in Iraq note that the prison attacks on Taji and Abu Ghraib, which began late on July 21, are the latest indication of the deteriorating state of security in the country. They also suggest that Sunni militants are re-gaining momentum in their insurgency against Nouri al-Maliki’s Shi’ite-dominated government. The latest surge of attacks in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of more than 450 Iraqis since the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on July 10. Sectarian violence in Iraq has not been this bad since 2007 and 2008.

Additional World Book articles:

• Iraq War
• Iraq: a Quest for Political Identity in a Second Year of War (a special report)
• Iraq 2007 (a Back in Time article)
• Iraq 2008 (a Back in Time article)