Iraqis say Syrians responsible for half of all attacks

BBC:

A senior Iraqi official has said half of all insurgent attacks in Baghdad are carried out by militants from Syria.

Ali al-Dabbagh said the Iraqi government has provided Damascus with evidence to back up this claim.

It comes after the deadliest single bombing since the US-led invasion of 2003 killed 130 people in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has vowed to put an end to such attacks, which he blamed on followers of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

In fresh violence, four policemen were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad on Sunday, police said.

At least three others were wounded in the blast in the al-Qasra area of the capital.

...

Speaking on al-Arabiyah television, Mr al-Dabbagh said many of the insurgents emanated from neighbouring Syria.

"Fifty per cent of terrorism enters Iraq from Syria, and we have evidence" to prove that, the Associated Press news agency reported.

"The Interior Ministry and the Ministry of State for National Security gave them [the Syrians] evidence about those who are conspiring and are sending car bombs. We gave them the numbers of their apartments and the buildings where they live," he said.

...

Our correspondent says the relentlessness of these attacks in places where they are clearly intended to cause the biggest number of casualties underlines the challenge before the Iraqis and Americans as they build up their forces for their new security operation in Baghdad.

He says they have to prove to an often sceptical public here that the threat from bombers and gunmen can be significantly lowered.

Note the unfair standard set by the BBC correspondent. While Maliki notes the criminal aspects of the attack, the BBC remains neutral on what should be an obvious point. The deliberate targeting of non combatants by people disguising themselves as civilians is a blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions that the BBC just ignores as if it is of no consequence and it will be of no consequence if the media continues to ignore it.