Market bombings: Baghdad locals want security, not Iraqi police: "'We are an independent state; no police or army is allowed to come in,' proclaims Khalid Jamal al-Qaisi, deputy leader of the US military-backed and predominantly Sunni Arab militia in charge of security in the old Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Fadhil.
The Monitor accompanied Mr. Qaisi, a mid-level member of the former Baath Party, on a walk down the area's main thoroughfare, Kifah Street, on Saturday, one day after a female suicide bomber struck the Ghazil pet market about a mile away on Jumhouriya Street, killing 62 people, according to Iraqi security officials.
Another female bomber killed 37 people in a market in Baghdad Jadida. The combined toll is the worst since July 26, when a truck bomb devastated a full block in the Karrada district, killing almost 100.
Qaisi says his men could have prevented Friday's bombings. He says the attacks only bolster his conviction that Iraq's security forces, both Army and police, are infiltrated by militias and insurgents and riddled with sectarian biases. He says his men do not recognize the authority of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and won't join the security forces under such conditions. Some neighborhood guards, called Concerned Local Citizens are slated to join the Army and police."
The Monitor accompanied Mr. Qaisi, a mid-level member of the former Baath Party, on a walk down the area's main thoroughfare, Kifah Street, on Saturday, one day after a female suicide bomber struck the Ghazil pet market about a mile away on Jumhouriya Street, killing 62 people, according to Iraqi security officials.
Another female bomber killed 37 people in a market in Baghdad Jadida. The combined toll is the worst since July 26, when a truck bomb devastated a full block in the Karrada district, killing almost 100.
Qaisi says his men could have prevented Friday's bombings. He says the attacks only bolster his conviction that Iraq's security forces, both Army and police, are infiltrated by militias and insurgents and riddled with sectarian biases. He says his men do not recognize the authority of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and won't join the security forces under such conditions. Some neighborhood guards, called Concerned Local Citizens are slated to join the Army and police."
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