A run of coordinated attacks that spanned the length of the country killed at least 56 people today in assaults aimed at Iraqi army and police forces, one day after the U.S. announced that its combat troops had fallen below 50,000.
To kick things off, a pickup truck full of explosives was detonated in the Qahira neighborhood of Baghdad behind a police station. The building imploded and nearby homes were shaken to pieces according to various media reports. 15 people were killed including six policemen, and 58 were left bruised and broken.
Three other explosions in the capital killed at least five other people.
The southern city of Kut was hit the hardest. According to reports, a suicide bomber exploded his car close to a police station targeting officers, Of the 19 people that were killed, 15 of them were policemen.
An account by Reuters reported the blast killed 26 policemen and injured some 90 people.
Although nobody’s disputing the fact that violence is down since its peak in 2007, daily attacks in the first three weeks of August on Iraqi forces and traffic police killed more than 85 people in Baghdad and Anbar province. In August, nearly 5 Iraqi security personnel have been killed every day, on average.
In search of a silver lining? Well, at least the insurgents aren’t targeting markets full of innocent civilians. Clearly the transition is moving along swimmingly.