Wave of fresh attacks kills 24 in Iraq

Two bombs aimed at police patrols exploded today in Baghdad as a series of attacks killed at least 24 people nationwide, while insurgent groups offered condolences for the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and warned they would continue his campaign of violence.

The first explosion missed the police patrol but struck the al-Sadriya market in a mixed Shiite-Sunni Arab neighbourhood in central Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 27, according to police Lt. Ali Mitaab and Lt. Thaer Mahmoud said.

Hours later, a parked car bomb hit a police patrol elsewhere in Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 14. The explosion targeted the patrol in Karradah, a popular shopping area in central Baghdad, police said.

Gunmen also stopped a minivan carrying Sunni passengers on the highway from Baghdad to Abu Ghraib, ordered them off the bus and opened fire, killing four and wounding another, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.

The attacks came after Iraqi authorities imposed a four-hour driving ban on Friday in Baghdad to prevent reprisal attacks after al-Zarqawi’s killing in a US air strike. A similar ban remains in effect in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, where the al Qaida in Iraq leader was killed on Wednesday.

One insurgent group, Ansar al-Sunna, posted a gruesome video showing militants interrogating, then beheading three Iraqis said to be members of a Shiite “death squad” that killed Sunnis. It did not say when the killings occurred, but the release of the video appeared timed as a warning that al-Zarqawi’s death would not stop the insurgency or his brutal tactics.

Iraqi and US leaders have acknowledged that Wednesday’s killing of the al Qaida in Iraq leader was not likely to stop the bloodshed that has ransacked the country.

Shiite lawmaker Bahaa al-Din al-Araji said the government expected an increase in terror attacks during the next 10 days “as a reprisal for the extermination of the evil ‘emir.”’

“But at the same time his death has led the government to more information about tens of terrorists,” he said. “God willing, this is the beginning of their end and security will be returned to the Iraqi streets.”

The US military has moved quickly to take advantage of the power vacuum left by al-Zarqawi’s death, carrying out at least 56 raids since the airstrike. Al-Zarqawi died shortly after the US military obliterated his hideout northwest of Baghdad with two 500-pound bombs. The bombs tore a huge crater in the date palm forest where the house was nestled outside the town of Baqouba.

A search of the destroyed safehouse yielded documents and electronic storage devices that are being assessed for potential use against his followers, a military officer said.

An M-16 rifle, grenades and AK-47 rifles also were found, according to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because results from the search have not been announced publicly. The US-made M-16 was fitted with special optics.

They also found documents and unspecified “media,” which the officer indicated normally means information storage devices such as computer hard drives and digital cameras.

Television footage showed a pillow with a floral pattern, sandals and a bag scattered among the debris of concrete blocks and twisted steel.

A foam mattress also had its covering torn off, and a piece of a gold curtain with brown trim, a red blanket and other pieces of cloth were caught on the blocks. A swamp cooler and part of a washing machine also could be seen in the area. Green pomegranates hung from a tree left standing nearby. Pieces of women’s clothing also were found in the rubble.

Gen. George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq, had said four people, including a woman and a child, were killed with al-Zarqawi and the terrorist’s spiritual consultant, but the US military revised the makeup of those slain Friday, saying it was three woman and three men.

US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell also said 39 raids were conducted across Iraq late Thursday and early Friday, including some directly related to the information they obtained from the strike against al-Zarqawi. Those were in addition to 17 raids carried out immediately after al-Zarqawi was killed.

The US military in Baghdad declined to say whether more raids occurred Saturday, saying it would not release information concerning ongoing operations.

“However, coalition forces will continue to assess and exploit information, and we will continue to take necessary actions to degrade terrorist operations in Iraq,” it said in a statement.

The military also revealed that al-Zarqawi was alive after his hideout was bombed, though he could barely speak.

“He mumbled something, but it was indistinguishable and it was very short,” Caldwell said, adding that al-Zarqawi tried to get away after being placed on a stretcher by Iraqi police.

Caldwell said it was possible that al-Zarqawi was not inside the safehouse when it was attacked, a scenario which might explain why he was the only one among the six people killed who initially survived the bombing.