Enemy uses mentally disabled women in attack

CNN:

Two mentally disabled women were strapped with explosives Friday and sent into busy Baghdad markets, where they were blown up by remote control from another location, a top Iraqi government official said.

The bombs killed at least 53 people and wounded more than 175 at two popular pet markets on the holiest day of the week for Muslims, authorities said.

In both bombings, the attackers were mentally disabled women whose explosive belts were remotely detonated, Gen. Qasim Atta, spokesman for Baghdad's security plan, told state television.

An aide to Atta said that people referred to the bomber at central Baghdad's al-Ghazil market as the "crazy woman" and that the bomber at a second market had an unspecified birth disability. Watch how bombers target large crowds »

The nationalities and identities of the women have not been released.

The U.S. military blamed the bombings on al Qaeda in Iraq.

"By targeting innocent Iraqis they show their true demonic character," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, spokesman for the Multi-National Division-Baghdad.

"They care nothing for the Iraqi people; they want to subjugate them and forcefully create a greater Islamic sharia state," he said, referring to Islamic law.

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This is above average reporting on a human bomb attack in Iraq. It leads with the wickedness of an enemy that would use the disabled as a weapon against non combatants. Too often this has been missing from reports on enemy attacks. Still missing is a reference to the violations of the Geneva Conventions by the enemy. There were at least two in this attack and it is important to demonstrate the violations by this enemy. Instead, the Conventions are usually only mentioned in relation to US conduct as if they were a unilateral contract binding only the US.

It is important to note that it is attacks like this that have turned the Iraqis against al Qaeda. This will only renew the determination of Iraqis to fight our common enemy, al Qaeda. The best news to come out of this attack is that as a PR event for al Qaeda it was a dismal failure.

The Belmont Club has more on the target selection process for th enemy.