Iraq underway after prison break at Abu Ghraib and Taji prisons in Iraq ... Another bloody day of bombs and death in Iraq !

Manhunt under way after Iraq prison attacks

Security forces try to recapture al-Qaeda members after deadly overnight assault on Abu Ghraib and Taji prisons. Last Modified: 22 Jul 2013 11:55

A search is under way for inmates, including several high-ranking al-Qaeda members, who escaped two Iraqi prisons following deadly attacks. Fifty-six people were killed in Sunday's attacks on Taji prison, north of Baghdad, and the Abu Ghraib facility, west of the Iraqi capital. The dead include 26 members of the security forces and 20 inmates. Ten of the attackers also died. Gunmen fired mortar rounds at the prisons. Four car bombs were also detonated near the entrances to the jails, while three suicide bombers attacked Taji prison, a police colonel said. Several roadside bombs also exploded near the prison in Taji. Fighting continued throughout the night as the military deployed aircraft and sent in reinforcements around the two facilities. 'Pursuing terrorists' The situation was eventually brought under control on Monday morning, according to the colonel. "The security forces in the Baghdad Operations Command, with the assistance of military aircraft, managed to foil an armed attack launched by unknown gunmen against the... two prisons of Taji and Abu Ghraib," the interior ministry said in a statement late on Sunday night. "The security forces forced the attackers to flee, and these forces are still pursuing the terrorist forces and exerting full control over the two regions," it said. The attacks on the prisons came a year after al-Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate announced it would target the justice system. "The first priority in this is releasing Muslim prisoners everywhere, and chasing and eliminating judges and investigators and their guards," said an audio message attributed to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in July last year. Prisons in Iraq are periodically hit by escape attempts, uprisings and other unrest. Abu Ghraib became notorious after photographs showing Iraqi detainees being humiliated and abused by their US guards were published in 2004. It also served as a torture centre under Saddam Hussein's ousted regime. Deadly violence also hit security forces in northern Iraq on Monday. A suicide car bomber attacked an army patrol in the city of Mosul, killing 12 people and wounding 16, while a roadside bomb wounded a soldier and a civilian near the city.

Scores Killed as Ramadan Bombings Surge in Iraq

Cafe Business Drops as Locals Avoid Public Places

by Jason Ditz, July 21, 2013

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12 car bombings and another 65 killed. It’s just another day for Iraq, where large numbers of people are still being killed daily in sectarian violence that shows no signs of letting up, and is even surging with Ramadan.

Iraq is no stranger to this sort of violence, which typified the era of US occupation. Yet as the tolls begin to surge yet again, locals are increasingly dissatisfied by the Maliki government’s inability to do anything about it.

The tendency of past years to simply brave the risks seems to be trying up too in the new, pessimistic Iraq, as youngsters who traditionally break their fasts at cafes are finding those a prime bombing target, and staying home instead.

Cafes were targeted during the World Cup qualifiers, and now they’re being targeted again in the evenings. Between the two, many have lost a friend or two in such attacks, and are choosing takeout to avoid being the next.

It’s all part of a resurgent al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which has gained support in neighboring Syria’s Civil War, and is trying to reclaim some of the credibility it once had as a faction to be reckoned with in Iraq. Death tolls for July are expected to remain at multi-year highs.