Jihad against sick children in a mostly Shi’ite town. Will this attack provoke any moral outrage from Sunni Muslim states? From Agence France-Presse:
HILLA, Iraq (AFP) – A suicide car bomb exploded across the street from a children’s hospital in the Iraqi city of Hilla on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 69, police and medical officials said.
“Most of the wounded were women and children, and the blast destroyed 15 vehicles and about 20 nearby shops,” said Lieutenant Eid al-Shammari of the local police.
Doctor Mohammed Dhia, head surgeon at the Hilla hospital confirmed the casualties, adding that 25 of those wounded had serious injuries, including severe burns.
Medical officials earlier confirmed that bodies had been evacuated to two hospitals in the area.
The bombing in a mostly Shiite town came hours before the US ambassador to Iraq and his Iranian counterpart met in a second round of face-to-face talks aimed at controlling Iraq’s spiralling violence.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the bombing, but in the past such attacks have been blamed on Sunni insurgent groups such as Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is trying to overthrow Iraq’s US-backed government and foment unrest.