BAGHDAD, Iraq - They have been bombed, shot, kidnapped and bombed again. They don't know who's an enemy and who's a friend. After 15 months of unrelenting violence that has killed civilians and terrorized much of the country, Iraqis are furious.
There are signs that the bloodshed could be creating a backlash against the militants waging the attacks in Iraq's name, but many here also blame the presence of U.S. forces for the turmoil in the country, and others believe the U.S. government is actually behind the attacks.
``I wish someone would tell me who is responsible for these acts. Believe me, I would drink his blood,'' said Firas Salah Mahmood, a 24-year-old civil engineer.
Like Iraqis across the country, Mahmood watched in horror Wednesday televised scenes from Baqouba, where a suicide bombing killed 68 Iraqis.
After the attack, Iraqis swarmed the street, wild with anger and grief. They cursed the attackers and called them terrorists.
``These were all innocent Iraqis. There were no Americans. What was their guilt?'' shouted an angry man, pounding his hands against his head.
Many of the attacks target coalition forces or Iraqi authorities, who have become more visible since the United States transferred sovereignty to an interim government last month.
But most of the victims are Iraqi civilians.
Iraqis are finding it hard to point the finger at themselves, fiercely clinging to the notion that foreigners, or the U.S. military, are behind devastating bombings that have killed hundreds in the last 15 months.
``What honorable Iraqi would kill another Iraqi?'' asked Inaam Mahdi, who lives near a police station in Baghdad where a bomb killed nine people July 19.
Rumors accompany virtually every bombing. Some people insist they saw U.S. aircraft fire rockets that left overwhelming destruction. Others assert U.S. soldiers place explosives in car trunks when they stop Iraqis at checkpoints, then detonate the bombs by remote control.
Even Iraqi officials are loath to acknowledge the vast majority of insurgents are their countrymen, as U.S. officials have recently confirmed.
Most Iraqis say that if U.S. troops leave, the attacks would end. They claim the United States is instigating attacks to justify its presence.
Nevertheless, in one favorable development, Iraqi authorities said residents have increasingly been calling them with tips about possible attacks.
The bombing in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, was the deadliest attack since the handover of sovereignty.
In addition to killing 68 Iraqis, the explosion wounded 56 Iraqis, overwhelming the city's hospital. Every bed was filled, forcing many victims to sit on the floor amid pools of blood as frantic health workers treated them. One wounded man sitting against the wall held his head in his hands and wept. People ran through the corridors searching for information on missing relatives.
Mahmood said his first reaction upon seeing the attack - which targeted applicants for the police force - was to cry.
``I felt really angry after I saw all those innocents falling. Why us?'' he said. ``Those people went looking for jobs there because they had no choice.''
The explosion came just three days before the country is to convene a national conference that will choose an interim assembly, and capped a violent day across Iraq.
At least 35 insurgents - and seven Iraqi soldiers - were killed in a joint raid involving Iraqi and foreign troops south of Baghdad. Witnesses said several people were killed in downtown Baghdad, after a projectile struck a residential street.
Also Wednesday, the military said clashes throughout Anbar province killed two coalition troops, and two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate roadside bombing attacks. Their deaths raised the toll of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq to at least 906 since the war began, according to an Associated Press tally
Jamie Tarabay
The Associated Press
There are signs that the bloodshed could be creating a backlash against the militants waging the attacks in Iraq's name, but many here also blame the presence of U.S. forces for the turmoil in the country, and others believe the U.S. government is actually behind the attacks.
``I wish someone would tell me who is responsible for these acts. Believe me, I would drink his blood,'' said Firas Salah Mahmood, a 24-year-old civil engineer.
Like Iraqis across the country, Mahmood watched in horror Wednesday televised scenes from Baqouba, where a suicide bombing killed 68 Iraqis.
After the attack, Iraqis swarmed the street, wild with anger and grief. They cursed the attackers and called them terrorists.
``These were all innocent Iraqis. There were no Americans. What was their guilt?'' shouted an angry man, pounding his hands against his head.
Many of the attacks target coalition forces or Iraqi authorities, who have become more visible since the United States transferred sovereignty to an interim government last month.
But most of the victims are Iraqi civilians.
Iraqis are finding it hard to point the finger at themselves, fiercely clinging to the notion that foreigners, or the U.S. military, are behind devastating bombings that have killed hundreds in the last 15 months.
``What honorable Iraqi would kill another Iraqi?'' asked Inaam Mahdi, who lives near a police station in Baghdad where a bomb killed nine people July 19.
Rumors accompany virtually every bombing. Some people insist they saw U.S. aircraft fire rockets that left overwhelming destruction. Others assert U.S. soldiers place explosives in car trunks when they stop Iraqis at checkpoints, then detonate the bombs by remote control.
Even Iraqi officials are loath to acknowledge the vast majority of insurgents are their countrymen, as U.S. officials have recently confirmed.
Most Iraqis say that if U.S. troops leave, the attacks would end. They claim the United States is instigating attacks to justify its presence.
Nevertheless, in one favorable development, Iraqi authorities said residents have increasingly been calling them with tips about possible attacks.
The bombing in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, was the deadliest attack since the handover of sovereignty.
In addition to killing 68 Iraqis, the explosion wounded 56 Iraqis, overwhelming the city's hospital. Every bed was filled, forcing many victims to sit on the floor amid pools of blood as frantic health workers treated them. One wounded man sitting against the wall held his head in his hands and wept. People ran through the corridors searching for information on missing relatives.
Mahmood said his first reaction upon seeing the attack - which targeted applicants for the police force - was to cry.
``I felt really angry after I saw all those innocents falling. Why us?'' he said. ``Those people went looking for jobs there because they had no choice.''
The explosion came just three days before the country is to convene a national conference that will choose an interim assembly, and capped a violent day across Iraq.
At least 35 insurgents - and seven Iraqi soldiers - were killed in a joint raid involving Iraqi and foreign troops south of Baghdad. Witnesses said several people were killed in downtown Baghdad, after a projectile struck a residential street.
Also Wednesday, the military said clashes throughout Anbar province killed two coalition troops, and two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate roadside bombing attacks. Their deaths raised the toll of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq to at least 906 since the war began, according to an Associated Press tally
Jamie Tarabay
The Associated Press
