BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Insurgent bombers launched a series of attacks across Baghdad on Wednesday and killed at least 164 people and wounded scores — a particularly violent day in a bloody capital city enduring sectarian warfare and an aggressive government crackdown against insurgents.
Further south, British forces transferred security control to Iraqi troops in Maysan province, a sign that Iraq is taking another step toward “self-reliance.” However, the spate of Baghdad blasts reflects the stiff challenges posed by what has been a resilient insurgency.
The Interior Ministry issued this update:
• 119 dead, 116 wounded in Sadriya market in central Baghdad;
• 28 dead, 44 wounded in an attack near an Iraqi Army checkpoint at one of the entrances to Sadr City, the official said.
• 11 civilians were killed and 13 others wounded when a parked car bomb detonated in central Baghdad’s Karrada district. The car was parked near a hospital and a market.
• 4 police officers were killed and 6 civilians wounded shortly when a suicide car bomber exploded at an Iraqi police checkpoint in southern Baghdad.
• 2 civilians were killed and 9 others wounded when a roadside bomb detonated at a busy intersection in central Baghdad.
The U.S. military was on the move against insurgents.
Coalition raids in and around the Iraqi cities of Falluja, Taji, and Mosul on Wednesday led to the killings of six insurgents and the detention of more than 40 others, the U.S. military said.
Death squads
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates answered questions earlier on Wednesday about Iraq’s instability.
During an appearance before the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, Egypt, stressed that he believes political reconciliation is the key to taming the current instability in Iraq.
“I think that there is progress being made. I believe that faster progress can be made in the political reconciliation procress in Iraq,” Gates said. He said there could be progress once “sectarian” factions “decide to live peacefully with one another.”
Gates explained that there aren’t “thousands of people in the streets in Iraq trying to kill each other.”
“What you have are armed gangs of death squads going around killing people. You have large vehicle-borne IEDs that are being used by al Qaeda to try and bring to bring massive casualties to the Shia in hope of stoking sectarian violence.”
And, he said, “you have a Baathist insurgency.”
“These are not mass movements.” he said, “and so if there is a political reconciliation the Iraqi security forces, with some of our help and that of our coalition partners, I think, are in a position to control both the insurgency, the death squads and al Qaeda.”
But, he emphasized, “we need for all of the parties involved to help with the process of reconciliation.”
Farther south in Maysan province, officials boasted that the transfer of security — which has been a relatively quiet district — “demonstrates another step towards a stable and secure Iraq.”
But Maysan isn’t a sectarian flashpoint. It is a largely rural stretch located in the Shiite heartland in the south and it borders Iran.
A statement from U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, British Ambassador to Iraq Dominic Asquith, and Gen. David Petraeus said, “Maysan is the fourth of 18 provinces to be transitioned and this reflects Iraq’s continued steps toward a capability to govern and protect itself and its citizens as a sovereign nation.
‘Insurgents’ killed
Meanwhile coalition raids in and around the Iraqi cities of Falluja, Taji, and Mosul led to the killings of six insurgents and the detention of more than 40 others, the U.S. military said.
Troops raided several buildings in a rural area northeast of Falluja, killing five suspected terrorists, wounding four more and capturing another 30 terror suspects, according to the U.S. military. Falluja is located in Anbar province.
“Coalition forces raided a group of buildings known to be used by terrorists and found explosive materials in one of the buildings,” the military statement said. “A helicopter used precision-guided munitions to strike the contents of the building. Secondary explosions at the site confirmed the material inside was explosive.”
Four of the insurgents were taken to military medical facilities to be treated for wounds, the military said.
Although some women and children were present, none of them were injured, according to the military.
An “armed terrorist” was killed and five insurgents were detained west of Taji — which is near Baghdad.
“The suspected terrorists are believed to be tied to al Qaeda in Iraq and a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device network known to use chlorine in its attacks. They are also allegedly involved in facilitating foreign terrorist movements,” the military said in a news release.
In Mosul, in northern Iraq, troops detained “three suspected terrorists with ties to the al Qaeda in Iraq network.”
Execution claim
The raids came the day after insurgents executed 20 members of Iraq’s security forces who were seized last week, according to a claim posted on the Internet.
The Islamic State of Iraq — an umbrella group of Sunni extremists that includes al Qaeda in Iraq — claims it carried out the executions.
The authenticity of the claim has not been verified.
The Islamic State of Iraq has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the parliament building last week in Baghdad’s Green Zone in which a legislator was killed.
A claim was found on the Web on Saturday that militants seized 20 security forces northeast of Baghdad. It is thought that the people were in Diyala province, but the name of the region was not mentioned.
CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh, Octavia Nasr and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
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