Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., December 30, 2008 Tevet 3, 5769 | | Israel Time: 04:21 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 23:27 28/12/2008
Suicide bomber kills 1, wounds 16 at protest against Gaza raids in Iraq
By The Associated Press
Tags: israel news, gaza, hamas 

A suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up Sunday amid a crowd of demonstrators in northern Iraq who were protesting Israel's air strikes on Gaza, killing one demonstrator and wounding 16 others, Iraqi police said.

The bomber rode his bicycle into the demonstration of about 1,300 people in the center of the northern city of Mosul, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with news media.

The demonstration was organized by the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party. The party's Mosul spokesman, Yahiya Abid Mahjoub, complained that police and the Iraqi army had not taken security precautions for the demonstration.
Advertisement
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, the officer said.

"The ones who targeted our brothers in Gaza are the same who targeted us in Mosul today. They are agents of Israel," Mahjoub said.

U.S. and Iraqi forces continue to battle al-Qaida and other insurgents in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, where economic and political problems persist. The issues are complicated by Kurdish-Arab tensions in the city.

Also Sunday, police in Fallujah said a bomb exploded on the outskirts of the city, killing two civilians and wounding four others.

A police officer said the bomb exploded in a parking lot where farmers and other merchants gather to buy and sell goods. A U.S. military spokesman, Army Capt. Charles Calio, confirmed the casualty toll but added that the bomb targeted a police patrol.

Delivery trucks and other vehicles that do not have access permits for Fallujah are not allowed to drive into the city, which is west of Baghdad.

The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to release information to the news media.

Iraq's government also condemned Israel's airstrikes on Gaza, which began Saturday.

In a statement, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraq is demanding that Israel immediately halt attacks on Gaza and called on the international community "to take the necessary steps to stop this attack."

Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said condemnation didn't go far enough.

"Expressing condemnation and denunciation for what is going on against our brothers in Gaza and expressing solidarity with them by words only doesn't mean anything in the face of the big tragedy they are facing," he said in a statement released by office in Najaf.

"Now more than at any other time, both Arab and Islamic nations are required to take a practical stance for the sake of stopping this repeated aggression and to break the unfair besieging of these brave people," the statement said, without giving details of the proposed stance.

In Samarra, 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Baghdad, hundreds of protesters gathered to denounce the air strikes.

The demonstrators also condemned "the Arab silence and the humiliating stance of Arab rulers," said Mahdi al-Aran, a local member of the Iraqi Islamic Party.

About 100 people took to the streets in Baghdad's largest Palestinian neighborhood, a complex of 16 apartment blocks surrounded by Shiite areas in the Baladiyat district, to protest the attacks. Some carried signs denouncing Israel and others carried flags.


Related articles:
  • Hamas: Time for a third Intifada
  • 3 senior Hamas officers among 230 killed during IAF strikes in Gaza
  • Olmert: Our desire for quiet was met with terror
  • One Israeli killed, 4 hurt as Palestinian rockets hit Negev home
  • ANALYSIS / IAF strike on Gaza is Israel's version of 'shock and awe'
  • IN PICTURES / Gaza under attack
  • Bradley Burston / The worst anti-Israel charges you'll hear in wartime
  • U.S. demands Hamas end terrorist acts, urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties
  • Israeli Arabs react with violence to IDF operations in Gaza
  • Israel to mount emergency international PR effort in wake of Gaza campaign
  • ANALYSIS / With Gaza raid, Barak is back in the political ring
  • ANALYSIS / Let's hope this time we'll know when to stop
  • Hundreds of activists in Tel Aviv protest IAF strike in Gaza
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Army of martyrs
    Iran clerics enlist volunteers to fight 'Zionist regime' in Gaza.
    New anti-Semitism
    Greek paper: World Jewish plutocracy behind Gaza strife, global financial crisis.
      1.   They even blow themselves up... 10:39  |  The Judge 29/12/08
      2.   impressive israeli agents 14:46  |  fish israel 29/12/08
      3.   Suicide bomber kills 1, etc 15:27  |  Moyses 29/12/08
      4.   The Reason God even God doesn´t understand his Arab children 15:32  |  Jew- and Bookburner 29/12/08
      5.   Suicide bomber 19:20  |  Leonard 29/12/08
      6.   my reaction 21:36  |  36 chambers 29/12/08
      7.   A new twist on an old expression 01:10  |  William 30/12/08
     Read & React
    Two Israelis die as rockets fired from Gaza hit south
    Responses: 158
    Bradley Burston: Who speaks for Gazans, when they need it most?
    Responses: 117
    Tom Segev: Trying to 'teach Hamas a lesson' is wrong
    Responses: 145
    Amira Hass: 'Gaza strike is against all Palestinians'
    Responses: 91
    Greek paper: World Jewish plutocracy behind Gaza strife, global financial crisis
    Responses: 65
    Why hasn't Hamas responded to Gaza strikes with greater force?
    Responses: 40


    More Headlines
    01:33 Rockets fired from Gaza kill 2 Israelis within hour
    02:58 ANALYSIS / Hamas is hoping for an IDF ground operation
    03:02 Israel targets senior Hamas, Islamic Jihad commanders in fresh Gaza strikes
    20:20 Hezbollah: Defending Gaza means offering blood of martyrs
    02:18 David Grossman / Is Israel too imprisoned in the familiar ceremony of war?
    02:28 EU to press Israel on ceasing Gaza operation
    01:42 U.S.: Hamas must halt rocket fire at Israel, agree to lasting truce
    23:23 WATCH: Israel's attack on Gaza from the missiles' point of view
    16:50 IN PICTURES / Firestorm over Gaza
    13:02 Top PA negotiator: No peace talks with Israel during Gaza assault
    01:48 VIDEO / Egyptian paper: Hamas leaders partially responsible for Gaza assault
    12:07 Gaza War Diary II - Who speaks for the Gazans?
    15:41 Greek paper: World Jewish plutocracy behind Gaza strife, global financial crisis
    02:44 Amira Hass / Uncertainty and bombing keep Gazans awake and fearful of who will be next
    12:28 Report: Captive IDF soldier Shalit wounded in Gaza air strikes
    12:11 Iran clerics enlist volunteers to fight 'Zionist regime' in Gaza
    07:41 Why hasn't Hamas responded to Gaza strikes with greater force?
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Summer in Israel
    Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
    SURF RAMBAM
    Keep current about new-wave medical care, education and research.
    Summer Camp in Israel
    The best place for your children this summer
    Academic Studies in Israel
    All the Q & A at the IDC HERZLIYA Open House, January 9,2009
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Car rental in Israel
    Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved