Blog 10: Series of Bombings Kills More Than 20 Across Iraq, Teresa Lindsey. 04/18/2014 8:50 a.m.

Summary

The article titled “Series of Bombings Kills More Than 20 across Iraq” discusses several incidents that took place over the course of a week beginning on Sunday when militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria gained control of the main road that connects Baghdad with the Northern provinces, while a series of blasts occurred around Iraq that left up to 25 people dead. The deadliest bombing of the day was a car bomb that detonated as a joint patrol for the police and army passed through Mosul in the north, which killed 10 and wounded 12 others. Five people (including an oil executive) were kidnapped while traveling on the road in Salahuddin Province by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a powerful jihadist group that was once affiliated with Al Qaeda. All of these attacks happened less than a week after the 11^th anniversary of the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and two weeks before the first parliamentary elections (which are scheduled to take place at the end of the month), since the United States withdrew from Iraq in 2011. According to security sources, in Kirkuk in the north, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a security checkpoint which resulted in killing eight people. Also in Salahuddin Province, gunmen attacked the home of a Sunni tribal fighter, killing three members of his family and near a police checkpoint a car bomb exploded killing four police officers.

Analysis

This article highlights the continuing acts of violence that have been centered around politics and/or religion It almost seems as though these coward criminals think that if they go around detonating car bombs and shooting innocent people that somehow it will deter people from participating in elections or going to church/mosque to serve whatever God you worship. Whatever happened to being an individual and having the right to choose in this world? I think everyone should be able to go to the grocery store, school, church, the mall, or just sit in the park on a sunny day enjoying the sunshine without having to be on edge and constantly looking over your shoulder eyeing everyone to see if they are acting suspicious. To live your life in fear of being attacked for just being who you are and believing in what you believe in is something no one should ever have to endure. I was taught growing up that you shouldn’t have hate in your heart for anyone so it bothers me to read these articles where this group or that group have bombed this building or this car bomb went off or this suicide bomber killed himself and many others too. In my opinion all of these killings are senseless and they need to stop because innocent people are dying because someone else has a problem with who they feel they should elect into office or who they feel they should worship.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/world/middleeast/series-of-bombings-kills-more-than-20-across-iraq.html?ref=middleeast

Blog 9: Suicide Bomber Kills Afghan Tribal Elder, Teresa Lindsey. 04/11/2014 3:08 p.m.

Summary

The article titled “Suicide Bomber Kills Afghan Tribal Elder” discusses an incident that took place on Friday in a market in eastern Afghanistan, A suicide bomber blew himself up and killed a pro-government tribal elder and wounded three civilians. At about 2 p.m. the bombing struck the tribal elder Gul Babri in the market of Jani Khil district of Paktiya province. Nobody immediately came forward to claim responsibility for the attack This attack came on the end of elections on April 5 for a new president and provincial councils and there have been many attacks in prior weeks leading up to the elections. The Taliban vowed to target polling stations and election workers but on Election Day millions of Afghans exercised their right to vote without bloodshed. Authorities in another eastern province, Ghazni, said some attacks were foiled when a suicide bombers explosives-packed vest detonated in a religious school earlier this month, killing 16 other militants who had been planning attacks against the balloting. As a result of this three Pakistanis and an Afghan Taliban commander were among those killed in a remote area of the Gilani district. The circumstances were unclear however district police Chief Mohammad Hashim said the explosion was an accident that happened during a training exercise in which the Pakistanis were demonstrating how to use the vests.

Analysis

This article highlights once again the violence that continues to happen in this world due to who someone chooses to worship or who they want to elect into office. There appears to be no place that is off limits for these coward suicide bombers to blow up; it doesn’t matter if it’s a school, church, hotel, market, mall, or a daycare. No one is safe and no one is exempt. It used to be back in the day if someone was going to break a crime they wouldn’t dare do it in broad daylight for fear of being seen and getting caught but times have changed and criminals have grown some mighty big balls because they will gun you down or bomb you in the light of day and not blink an eye or give a rats ass because they are prepared to die also. Innocent people dying for no valid reason at all this nonsense needs to stop and it needs to stop right now!

Link:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/suicide-bomber-kills-afghan-tribal-elder/2014/04/11/5a171894-c186-11e3-9ee7-02c1e10a03f0_story.html

Blog 8: Attack at Wrong Door Turns into Fatal Mistake for the Taliban, Teresa Lindsey. 04/04/2014 4:12 p.m.

Summary

The article titled “Attack at Wrong Door Turns into Fatal Mistake for the Taliban" discusses an incident that took place on Friday, March 28, 2014, when the Taliban assailants thought they were attacking a Christian-run daycare center that wasn’t guarded. The bizarre thing about this attack is that the Taliban hit the wrong place; they burst into the compound next door where an American government contractor (Roots of Peace) was heavily armed ready and waiting for them. Roots of Peace had blocked its front gate with an armored Land Cruiser which they used to take cover behind when the shooting began. The guards and the five foreign residents were able to retreat to the house and go upstairs. One of the guards hit an assailant coming up the circular staircase while two of the American residents hid in their bedroom closets. One big tall man hid in his closet and piled clothes on top of him, while the Taliban was shooting up the bedroom and throwing flash grenades, and even opened the closet but didn’t see him. Police were able to rescue two dozen foreigners from the Christian-run daycare center next door while the gun battle was going on. According to Afghan officials all five Taliban gunmen were killed including one who committed suicide. Two Afghan civilians were killed (one of whom was a young girl) and Two Roots of Peace guards were wounded. This attack took place in Karte Se which is a well-to-do area of Kabul and also an area where many foreign aid groups have homes and offices. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban, who was reached by phone while the attack was still underway, asserted the target had been “a church used to convert Muslims to Christianity.” He claims that the Taliban had intelligence that the alleged church was going to be celebrating their first anniversary in Kabul and they timed their attack to what they thought was that celebration. The attack began with a large explosion (the Taliban and the police confirmed) which was a suicide car bomb that blew open the daycare center gates and could be heard throughout the city. A smaller explosion followed that blew off the gates of the Roots of Peace house, this house was used as residential quarters for its expatriate staff. Because the Taliban received incorrect information, the attackers armed with assault rifles and wearing suicide bomb vests entered the contractors’ house instead of the daycare center.

Analysis

This article highlights violence that continues to happen in the world due to either religion or politics. This incident is among many other attacks that have recently happened like the attack at the Serena Hotel which killed 9 people including a journalist and most of his family. In January there was an attack on a restaurant that killed 13 foreigners, many of whom were relief workers and employees of international organizations. Just earlier this month, a Swedish journalist was assassinated on a street in the diplomatic quarter by insurgents who accused him of spying. These attacks are brutal, senseless, and sad. It almost seems like if you are a journalist, political figure, activist, or innocent bystander you are fair game at being a target. This article bothered me because their intended target was a daycare center. Just think of the innocent children who could have been potential targets. It’s almost a blessing in disguise that the Taliban got wrong information and hit the wrong place and spared those children but in the aftermath a young girl still lost her life so although it’s still sad it could have been much worse had the daycare center been actually hit. I just really wish the Taliban and all the other mean hateful people that want to hurt innocent people just go rot in jail somewhere.

Link    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/world/asia/taliban-militants-attack-kabul-house-and-trap-foreigners.html

Blog 7: Gunmen Kill 6 in Attack on Kenyan Church, Teresa Lindsey. 03/28/2014 4:26 p.m.

Summary

The article titled “Gunmen Kill 6 in Attack on Kenyan Church” discusses an incident that took place on Sunday, March 23, 2014, in a church near Mombasa when six worshipers were killed when gunmen opened fire. Witnesses said that the attackers burst through the church’s back door began shouting and opened fire on the congregation. Lilian Omondi, who was leading the prayer meeting, stated that “Both carried big guns and began shouting all over the place. I fell to the ground and could hear screams.” The floor was covered with blood spattered Bibles, overturned plastic chairs, and bullet casings. Two people were killed at the church and four others died of their wounds at the hospital. The attackers tried to raid a second church nearby but fled when the police appeared. Robert Mureithi, the local police chief, stated that Sunday’s attack had “all the indicators of a terrorist attack because the attackers did not steal anything and they appeared focused on killing.” Police threw a dragnet over the Likoni neighborhood, where the shooting occurred and rounded up more than 200 youths for questioning. There was no assertion of responsibility for the attack The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab and its local sympathizers have carried out attacks in Kenya, some of them on churches, in retaliation for the Kenyan army’s intervention against al-Shabab in Somali. Kenyans have become alarmed at how easy the militants appear to move around East Africa’s biggest economy a recipient of U.S. counter-terrorism funding. The Parliament called for better coordination between the security and intelligence agencies after dozens of people were killed in an al-Shabab attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi in September. The Kenyan coast’s large Muslim minority, many of whom feel marginalized by the predominately Christian government, has been a vast recruitment ground for Islamist militant networks. Breaking up those networks has been a top priority for the Nairobi government, but moderate Muslim clerics say that these tactics have sparked resentment from the Muslim youths. Sheik Juma Ngao, a prominent Muslim cleric in Mombasa, said “The attackers have not done this on behalf of any religion or right-thinking group, if they are hoping to drive a wedge between religious groups in this region, then they are greatly mistaken.

Analysis

This article highlights the continuing violence that is happening all over the world as a result of people/groups that seem to have an issue with government and/or politics, robbery, or maybe even adultery. Violence is not the answer to any type of conflict. I feel that it is just senseless to rob someone of something that does not belong to you but to go inside of a church and shoot innocent people who are just trying to worship and enjoy a peaceful church service is just horrific, cold, calculating, and inhumane. You know it’s bad when people can’t go to church without getting shot, kids can’t go to school without dying, and hardworking people and their families can’t enjoy an outing at the mall without running and ducking for cover because gunmen shoot up the place ready to kill anything that moves. This world we live in is getting rougher every day it seems like and it’s really sad that when you go places you have to be on alert and very cautious of your surroundings because you want to live and make it home to your family. This story made me reflect on other similar stories of shootings at churches in other parts of the world and it’s hard to imagine this type of violent act occurring in a place of worship but as we all know this world is/has changed and not necessarily for the better. Gone are the days where you can pull up in front of a store run in and get something and leave your car running. Gone are the days of leaving your front door unlocked at night and waking up the next morning with all family members accounted for and all your possessions still in their rightful place. Gone are the days when you can wear whatever color clothing you want and not get shot. Gone are the days when we can live carefree, go to school and your only worry is what am I going to eat for lunch, and unfortunately gone are the days when you can go to church to worship whatever God you serve and only focus on the service. What has the world come to?

Link:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/gunmen-kill-6-in-attack-on-kenyan-church/2014/03/23/40fca554-b2cc-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html

Blog 6: Journalist Among 9 Killed in Afghan, Teresa Lindsey. 03/21/2014 4:35 p.m.

Summary

The article titled “Journalist Among 9 Killed in Afghan Attack discusses an incident that occurred on Thursday night inside of a luxurious Serena hotel in Kabul. Four gunmen slipped handguns inside of their socks and launched an attack that killed nine people; four of those were foreigners (from Canada, India, Pakistan, and New Zealand). Among the people killed were an Afghan journalist, Sardar Ahmad and four members of his family who were celebrating the Persian New Year and also a former Paraguayan diplomat who had come to Afghanistan to observe next month’s elections. The Serena, with its high walls and heavy fortifications, was a magnet for foreign dignitaries and officials, along with well-heeled Afghans, who swarm the hotel’s restaurants, coffee shop, and full service spa. Spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Sediq Seddiqi told reporters that the attackers were all young men who entered the hotel saying that they were going to eat in one of the restaurants inside of the hotel. The men were searched before entering the hotel at the guardroom which is about 50 yards from the glass encased lobby, and the search failed to uncover the six small pistols that were hidden inside of their shoes and socks. The guns were wrapped in plastic to mask them from being detected from the metal detectors and were smaller than the size of a hand. Two workers reported seeing men walking around the public areas of the hotel asking when the Nowruz celebration would start. The workers stated that they didn’t appear to blend in. Once the Nowruz celebration began the men started their assault on unarmed guests around 9 p.m. and shot and killed seven people in the restaurant and two people in the lobby. The police quickly cordoned off the area around the hotel, which is less than a mile from the presidential palace. The police were confused at first because they trying to figure out if an attack was underway or if there had been a fight between guests, which was what had initially been reported. Afghan security forces overcame the attackers before midnight. Two of the attackers were killed in the restaurant and another was killed in a nearby bathroom. Throughout the attack, guests were hiding in their rooms or found shelter in safety bunkers around the complex and some called friends in Kabul trying to figure out what was going on. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attack and the fears were reinforced that the election to replace President Hamid Karzai will be accompanied by widening bloodshed. There have been a series of attacks the past two weeks which have made it apparent that Afghan and foreign civilians are likely to suffer the brunt of the violence. The violence that has recently occurred, range from a suicide bombing at a bazaar in northern Afghanistan to an assassination of a Swedish journalist on a crowded street in Kabul. The focus on Friday for Afghans and foreigners alike is mourning the dead and figuring out how the gunmen managed to get inside Serena. Mr. Seddiqi told reporters that the attack “put the Serena’s advanced security system under question,” suggesting the assailants may have had inside help.

Analysis

This article highlights the violence that innocent people suffered as a result of politics. The Taliban wants to disrupt the elections and subject Afghan and innocent foreigners to undue harm. This particular hotel has been subjected to violence by the Taliban repeatedly. The hotel attracts a certain type of clientele not to mention how luxurious it is and as a result it offers an attractive target for militants. I can’t imagine checking into a hotel and hearing gunshots and having to run for cover. To know that because of someone’s stance on politics at any given time regardless of where you are you could very well be a target is very unnerving. I just wish that maybe one day it won’t matter who is running for a political position or what law is in effect that you don’t agree with. Violence is not the answer and too many innocent lives are lost as a result of nonsense. When will all this madness stop?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/world/asia/gunmen-open-fire-at-a-luxury-hotel-in-afghanistan.html?rref=world