Chile earthquake relief: Rev. Felipe Berrios stands in front of a model of the emergency wooden homes built by 'A Roof for Chile', a nonprofit that builds houses for the poor with the help of college students.
Student workers comprise the bulk of the workforce at A Roof for Chile. Another function of the nonprofit: helping people obtain micro loans and extending other forms of social assistance to the communities.
New townhouses will soon be home for 47 families now in temporary homes built by A Roof for Chile. The group also helps families get access to permanent homes like these. The organization's goal: Move some 20,000 people from shantytowns into such homes by the end of this year.
Elsa Gonzalez, community leader in Ochagaria, worked with Father Barrios toward the installation of the homes. International college students assist in planning and building them.
Ochagaria, a shantytown on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, has been one site to receive A Roof for Chile's emergency homes. A Roof for Chile has expanded its reach to 15 countries.
If anyone will play a crucial reconstruction role after the 8.8 Chile earthquake it is the Rev. Felipe Berrios, a Jesuit priest whose award-winning organization has in less than 15 years nearly gotten all Chilean families into permanent housing and expanded its work to 16 countries across Latin America.
Father Berrios, who set out to build emergency housing in Chile’s shantytowns in the late 1990s, had an ambitious goal when he founded a “Roof for Chile” in 1997: By the year 2000, he sought to construct 2,000 new homes throughout the country.
He reached the goal and kept going, expanding his organization regionally. The newer project, called “A Roof for My Country,” now aims to replace every shantytown in Chile by the end of 2010 – a goal the group still maintains is possible even after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country Feb. 27, killing more than 700, destroying more than 500,000 homes, and affecting an estimated 2 million residents.
IN PICTURES: Images from the magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile
“To get out of poverty you need a job, you need education and health services, but if you do not have a physical space to live in, the rest of it does not matter,” Father Berrios said in a December interview at his office on the outskirts of Santiago, which was bustling with college-age volunteers. “You need a place to be able to get a letter; you need to be able to say, ‘this is my home.’”
Rush to build emergency homes
While “A Roof for Chile” aims to find permanent housing for the 20,000 families registered as living in illegal settlements – when Berrios started the number was 135,000 – they are also rushing to build 30,000 emergency homes for those left displaced by the earthquake and tsunami in Chile.
“We have to respond to this crisis,” says Claudio Castro, the social director for “A Roof for my Country,” which also recently began working in Haiti in the aftermath of its 7.0-magnitude earthquake that left over 200,000 dead in January. The group plans to build 10,000 emergency homes in the next four years there with university students from across Latin America.
“But we will continue with the goal of having no [shantytowns] in Chile by this year,” says Mr. Castro.
What that means for Chileans is obvious in the Santiago shantytown of Ochagavia, where homes made of all shapes, colors, and materials are plunked down haphazardly. Before the earthquake, half the community was scheduled to move across the street to a little neighborhood behind a gate. There, 47 two-story brick homes neatly lined both sides of a paved road in December. A small park sat in the middle and a community center was under construction.
It wasn't possible to immediately verify whether that project had been damaged in the earthquake.
Mass migration to cities complicates things
In his mission, Berrios is helping to tackle the urban poverty that remains one of Latin America’s most stubborn problems. Continued mass rural migration over the past five decades has made the region the globe¹s most urbanized as newcomers build illegal sheet-metal shacks on the periphery of cities.
Worldwide, the United Nations estimates that 25 percent of the urban population lives in poverty, and the problem is worsening. By 2050, an additional 3 billion people will live in cities, most of whom will end up in slums.
“The demand is so monumental that there is no country in Latin America that is able to address it alone,” says Erik Vittrup at the Latin America and the Caribbean office for the United Nations Human Settlements Program in Rio de Janeiro.
Three phases
A Roof for Chile carries out its work in three phases. First, construction of temporary homes; second, bringing in education, social services, and microcredit programs while helping families find land to build permanent homes on; third, creation of sustainable neighborhoods.
On a recent day in Ochagavia, Elsa Gonzalez, a community leader here, emerged beaming from a meeting of A Roof for Chile that focused on helping half the community find land for new homes. “What I most long for is having a faucet with water running from it,” said Ms. Gonzalez, who is saving money for the small down payment, a requirement for each resident. She’s building her nest egg by selling hot dogs and snacks on street corners. “I cannot wait to be able to flush [my own] toilet,” she says.
By the bicentennial of Chile’s independence on Sept. 18, 2010, A Roof for Chile seeks to have each Chilean family, like the Gonzalez family, either moved into or in the process of owning legal title to their land. By year-end, the group plans to have branches in every nation in Latin America. Their newest office opened in Bolivia last year and the next on the list is Panama. They have also begun trying to raise funds in the United States, particularly among Latinos in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.
Earlier in December, Berrios explained that after “A Roof for Chile” meets its goals in Chile, the organization plans to tackle crime and justice and other types of discrimination. The reconstruction of the country will be a first priority now, says Castro, who began working for the organization as a volunteer, and like many former college interns and volunteers, now holds a senior post. “It will be complex,” he says. “We still do not have a number of how many people are homeless.”
Security personnel inside the mall after it was evacuated when water started gushing out of the aquarium
Emergency crews are seen arriving at Dubai Mall following the incident
Visitors view the huge aquarium in Dubai Mall
Leak: A torrent of water gushes out of the giant Dubai Mall aquarium after a crack opens up in the glass
Part of the vast Dubai Mall has been evacuated after its giant aquarium developed a leak, a police official said today.
The aquarium, one of the largest tanks in the world at 167ft by 66ft, has hundreds of living animals including Sand Tiger sharks and rays.
It is thought to have developed a crack and a witness said people in part of the mall were evacuated and dozens of emergency vehicles were outside.
Six divers entered the tank and appeared to be coordinating with workers outside the glass, while workers mopped up water from the floor.
Emaar's chairman Mohammed Alabbar denied there was a leak in the aquarium, saying there was a 'technical fault in the operating device,' according to a statement carried on the country's official news agency WAM.
But a witness said water had been leaking from a crack in the aquarium glass.
'I saw a small crack in the aquarium glass and there was a little water coming out and a lot of water on the floor,' said Ranjin, a 27-year old corporate secretary.
'The police came and evacuated the area around the aquarium.'
Dubai Aquarium is planning to have more than 33,000 animals representing more than 85 species in the giant tank.
It also features an underwater zoo which has penguins, seals, crocodiles and water rats among its attractions.
It is operated by Emaar Properties and also features the world's largest acrylic viewing panel.
One million people had already visited the aquarium seven months after it had opened.
This is the latest in a string of problems for the aquarium.
Shortly before its opening in October 2008, over ten per cent of the sharks in the tank were been killed in attacks that marred the build-up to its unveiling.
Sand Tiger sharks killed at least 40 smaller reef sharks and were aggressive towards divers working on final preparations in the giant tank.
Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping mall by total area, contains around 600 retailers and had over 37 million visitors in its first year of operation.
It now has an average of 750,000 visitors every week. As well as shops and restaurants, the Mall also contains an ice rink and cinema.
Emaar Properties, the Arab world's largest developer, came under scrutiny earlier this month when it closed the observation deck at Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower and the firm's flagship project, just a month after its fanfare opening.
A barge collided with a tanker on Saturday in the port of Port Arthur, Texas, sending thousands of gallons of crude oil into the water, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The tanker was carrying crude oil to Exxon Mobil Corp's refinery in Beaumont, Texas, located north of Port Arthur. The waterway, through which tankers carry oil to four refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, remained shut on Saturday night.
A 15-foot-by-8-foot (4.6 meter-by-2.4-meter) hole was torn in the side of the 807-foot (246-meter) tanker Eagle Otome in the collision with a barge being moved in the port, the Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported due to the crash.
Vapors from the estimated 450,000 gallons of spilled crude oil triggered warnings of a hydrogen sulfide release near the port where three refineries are located, leading authorities to recommend nearby residents leave their homes.
"I think about 12 people went to the shelter," said Port Arthur Police Chief Mark Blanton. "The vapors quickly dissipated."
The crude oil spill was being contained by booms put out by state and federal environmental agencies.
The remaining crude oil on the Eagle Otome will be loaded on another ship and the tanker will be moved out of the waterway by early next week.
Refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont have a combined refining capacity of 1.15 million barrels, equal to about 6.5 cent of the total U.S. capacity.
None of the refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont have reported problems since the waterway was closed. Refineries store significant amounts of crude oil in giant tanks on their grounds.
Pakistani rescue workers remove a body from the site of a bomb explosion outside a bank in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. An explosion occurred outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, the latest in a wave of attacks by militants since the army launched a new military offensive against them last month.
A Pakistani rescue worker stands at the site of bomb explosion outside a bank in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. An explosion occurred near Pakistan's capital Monday, the latest in a wave of attacks by militants since the army launched a new offensive against them last month.
A Pakistani rescue worker stands at the site of bomb explosion outside a bank in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. An explosion occurred near Pakistan's capital Monday, the latest in a wave of attacks by militants since the army launched a new offensive against them last month.
People hug each other in front of bodies of a bombing victims at a local hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. An explosion occurred outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, the latest in a wave of attacks by militants since the army launched a new military offensive against them last month.
People look at dead bodies of a bombing victims at a local hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. An explosion occurred outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, the latest in a wave of attacks by militants since the army launched a new military offensive against them last month.
Pakistani rescue workers remove a body from the site of bomb explosion outside a bank in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. An explosion occurred near Pakistan's capital Monday, the latest in a wave of attacks by militants since the army launched a new offensive against them last month.
A Pakistani rescue worker stands at the site of bomb explosion outside a bank in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. An explosion occurred near Pakistan's capital Monday, the latest in a wave of attacks by militants since the army launched a new offensive against them last month.
Pakistani police reported a bomb attack on a check post near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday, injuring at least 15 people.
Several police men were injured in the attack in the outskirts of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, a police man at the check post said.
Police man Saeed said that he was on duty on the check post when a car exploded. At least four police men were injured in the attack at Babo-Sabo interchange.
Police sources said that it was a suicide attack and the bomber detonated his explosive-filled car near the check post.
A bomber has attacked a police checkpoint on the outskirts of the Pakistani city of Lahore.
The incident in the east of the country on Monday wounded at least eight people, a senior police official said.
It comes hours after more than 30 people were killed in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, injuring dozens more.
The Taliban is suspected of undertaking the earlier attack, which occured near a bank as people queued to receive payments.
No group has claimed either attack.
A suicide bomber killed more than 30 and injured 45 more in a high-security area of Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Monday.
The blast, which apparently targeted military personnel and civilians who had gathered at the bank to collect salaries and pensions, is the latest in a wave of suicide and hostage-taking attacks that have left nearly 200 dead in a month.
The attack shows again how terrorists' reach has extended into relatively safe areas of Pakistan's major cities, and underscores the scope of the security threat facing the Pakistani government. It came just hours after Pakistan announced a bounty on 21 top Taliban leaders, saying they were wanted "dead or alive."
Monday's blast followed last Wednesday's attack on a market in the northwest city of Peshawar that killed at least 118, and an attack just hours later that day on the United Nations office in the capital, Islamabad, that killed five.
The Pakistan daily Dawn reported that Monday's blast occurred on Mall Road, in the "high-security" area of Rawalpindi Cantt, which houses major hotels and key government and military facilities.
Monday's explosion left bodies on the ground outside the bank and in a nearby hotel parking lot, witness Zahid Dara said. The stricken area also lies close to the army's main headquarters.
'I was nearby and rushed toward the parking area,' Dara told a private television channel. 'There were many people lying on the ground with bleeding wounds, and a motorcycle was on fire with one man under it.'
The paper said that the suicide bomber rode a motorcycle to the scene, and that the blast killed military personnel and shattered the windows of nearby buildings.
The New York Times reports that the blast occurred outside a branch office of the National Bank of Pakistan, a few hundred yards from Pakistan Army headquarters.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's blast. But the New York Times said such attacks have escalated since the start of a Pakistani government offensive against the Taliban.
Military, government, and intelligence facilities have been targeted repeatedly in recent months, and attacks intensified after the start of an ongoing military operation against militants in the northwestern tribal region of South Waziristan, the Taliban stronghold.
Three weeks ago in Rawalpindi, nine gunmen wearing army uniforms broke into the military headquarters complex and held dozens of hostages for 20 hours. A raid by commandos ended the siege, but 16 people were killed, including eight of the attackers, the military said.
The surviving militant has been identified as Muhammad Aqeel, whom officials believe to be a member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a militant group affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban.
Monday's attack came just hours after the Pakistan government announced bounties of up to $600,000 on the heads of 21 top Taliban leaders, according to the BBC.
"Such people are killers of humanity, and they deserve an exemplary punishment," the government announced in a series of advertisements, according to the BBC. "Anyone who captures these people dead or alive, or provides concrete information, the government will award them a cash reward."
Also Monday, the United Nations announced it would suspend some projects in northwest Pakistan due to security concerns, according to the Press Association – another indication of how bad the security situation in Pakistan has become.
UN spokeswoman Amina Kamaal said the organisation was still deciding which programmes will be suspended. ...
"We have had 11 of our colleagues killed because of the security situation," said Ms Kamaal. "All of the decisions are being made in light of that."
A suicide bomber killed 35 people outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, as the U.N. said spreading violence has forced it to start pulling out some expatriate staff and suspend long-term development work in areas along the Afghan border.
Islamist insurgents have carried out numerous attacks in Pakistan in recent weeks, killing more than 300 people in retaliation for an army offensive in the Pakistani Taliban's northwest stronghold of South Waziristan. Several U.N. personnel have been among those killed, and the group's decision to suspend development work could imperil Western goals of reducing extremism by improving Pakistan's economy.
Monday's attack in Rawalpindi, a garrison city just a few miles (kilometers) from Islamabad, occurred as many people waited outside the National Bank on a pay day to collect salaries.
The bank is close to the army's headquarters, and a majority of the people waiting in line were from the military, said Mohammad Mushtaq, a soldier wounded in the attack. Militants raided the headquarters last month, a 22-hour standoff that left 23 people dead.
"I was sitting on the pavement outside to wait for my turn," said Mushtaq, who suffered a head injury. "The bomb went off with a big bang. We all ran. I saw blood and body parts everywhere."
Four soldiers were killed in the attack and nine were wounded, said the army's chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. In total, 35 people were killed, said Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira. Several dozen were wounded.
One panicked father near the bank when the explosion occurred said he was unable to find his son in the aftermath.
"I parked my car in the bank car park, and my child was sitting inside," Mohammad Saleem told AP Television News. "Now they're not giving me permission to go and look, and I don't know where my child is."
No group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but that is not unusual in attacks that kill many civilians.
Pakistan's president, prime minister and other top officials condemned the blast but vowed to continue the offensive in South Waziristan, an impoverished and underdeveloped tribal region next to Afghanistan where al-Qaida is believed to have hide-outs.
The U.S. supports the operation because it believes South Waziristan is a safe haven for Islamist extremists involved in attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan.
The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, met with Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi. The U.S. Embassy declined to say if he was there at the time of the attack.
Washington has also stepped up its efforts to use development aid in a broader battle against spreading militancy. The U.S. government recently approved $7.5 billion in aid over five years to improve Pakistan's economy, education and other nonmilitary sectors.
But the U.N. decision to suspend long-term development work in Pakistan's tribal areas and its North West Frontier Province could frustrate Washington's goals.
The U.N. made its decision after losing 11 of its personnel in attacks in Pakistan this year, including last month's bombing of the World Food Program's office in Islamabad that killed five people.
U.N. workers were also among the 11 killed in a June suicide bombing of the Pearl Continental Hotel in the main northwest city of Peshawar, and a veteran U.N. official was shot dead while resisting kidnappers at a northwest Pakistan refugee camp in July.
The world body will reduce the level of international staff in the country and confine its work to emergency, humanitarian relief, and security operations, and also "any other essential operations as advised by the secretary-general," the organization said in a statement.
The U.N. has been deeply involved in helping Pakistan deal with refugee crises resulting from army offensives against militants in the northwest.
U.N. spokeswoman Amena Kamaal told The Associated Press that the organization is still determining which programs will be suspended and how many staffers will be withdrawn from the country. She said "long-term development" applied to programs with a five-year or longer timeframe. The staff that remains in the country will be assigned additional security, she said.
"We have had 11 of our colleagues killed because of the security situation," Kamaal said. "All of the decisions are being made in light of that."
The U.N. has deemed 12 other countries or parts of countries so dangerous that it has suspended long-term development work, but that does not include Afghanistan, said Ian Miller, a U.N. official in Islamabad.
He said the decision was driven by the "less and less discriminative nature of Taliban targeting" in Pakistan.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said Pakistan understood the U.N.'s reasoning, but that he hoped the organization would resume its development work after the military completed its operation in South Waziristan.
Pakistan's shaky, U.S.-allied government also came under pressure Monday when a faction of the ruling coalition suggested President Asif Ali Zardari step down and face corruption charges.
The parliament is currently debating a measure that grants the president and others amnesty from corruption charges, and a rift within the ruling coalition could lead to distractions just as the U.S. wants Pakistan to focus on fighting militants.
The measure initially came into force under the military government of Pervez Musharraf, but legal challenges to it have led the young civilian government to place it in front of parliament.
Altaf Hussain, leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement party, told Geo television that "the president and his aides have to sacrifice to save the country, system and democracy" and said his party would oppose the measure.
The MQM's motivations for confronting Zardari were unclear, mystifying some political analysts who noted Monday that the party is believed to benefit from the amnesty measure.
Zardari denies the corruption allegations, and has already spent years in prison fighting them. Fauzia Wahab, a spokeswoman for Zardari's party, said the MQM has the right to express its opinion.
Smoke rose in central Kabul shortly after an attack on a U.N. guest house on Wednesday.
Afghan police officers and soldiers surrounded an unidentified victim outside a U.N. guest house after it was attacked by gunmen in Kabul on Wednesday.
Afghan police officers rescued a wounded German U.N. staffer from a U.N. guest house in Kabul on Wednesday.
Map of Kabul locates area where gunmen and suicide attackers stormed a guest house where U.N. staff were staying.
Afghan soldiers cordons off a U.N. guest house after it was attacked by gunmen in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Gunmen attacked a guest house used by U.N. staff in the Afghan capital of Kabul early Wednesday, killing at least seven people including three U.N. staff, officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election.
Afghan policemen carry a wounded U.N. staffer from a U.N. guest house after it was attacked by gunmen in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Gunmen attacked a guest house used by U.N. staff in the Afghan capital of Kabul early Wednesday, officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election.
Afghan soldiers take positions as they prepare to launch an assault near a U.N. guest house after it was attacked by gunmen in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Gunmen attacked the guest house early Wednesday, killing at least seven people including three U.N. staff, officials said.
An Afghan policeman carries an injured unidentified German National, a U.N. staffer from the site of a attack in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Gunmen attacked a guest house used by U.N. staff in the Afghan capital of Kabul early Wednesday, officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly on Wednesday condemned the deadly attack on a UN guest house in central Kabul, Afghanistan, which killed five UN staff and injured some others.
"I am deeply shocked and outraged by the cowardly attack," Ban said in a statement.
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the despicable and brutal killing, for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility in an apparent effort to disrupt the second round of the presidential election," he said.
Ban expressed his "deepest condolences" to the families and friends of the victims "who were viciously killed as they sought to serve the people of Afghanistan."
"This indeed is a loss to all members of the UN family working together to support Afghanistan at this critical juncture," the secretary-general said.
But the world organization "remains committed to continue its work in the country as the Afghan people strive for a better future," Ban added.
Militants in Afghanistan have killed at least six foreign U.N. workers and three Afghans during an attack on an international guesthouse in the capital, Kabul. One American is among those dead. Police are also reporting that a rocket attack on an international hotel in Kabul forced some 100 guests into a bunker.
Local police and U.N. officials say the pre-dawn militant attack targeted a guest house for foreigners, located in a shopping district of Kabul. Speaking to VOA by telephone from the Afghan capital, U.N. spokesman Aleem Siddique gave details, shortly after the incident.
"A U.N.-approved guest house came under attack early this morning by unknown number of armed attackers," Siddique said. "There was an explosion, followed by gunshots. The attackers entered the guest house. The residents made for an escape."
Afghan police say at least three gunmen, wearing suicide vests, took part in the deadly raid and fought pitched battles with security forces before they either detonated their explosives or were shot dead.
Witnesses say the bodies of three suicide bombers could be seen lying inside the compound.
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a "first step" to disrupt next month's presidential runoff election in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, the chief of U.N mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said that the world organization has served the Afghan nation for more than 50 years. He says he considers Wednesday's act of violence not only an attack against the United Nations, but an attack against the Afghan people.
"For the U.N. in Afghanistan this is of course a very dark day and I strongly condemn the attack this morning against a U.N guesthouse here in Kabul for which the Taliban has claimed the responsibility," Eide said. "This attack will not, I repeat, not deter the U.N from continuing its work to contribute to reconstruct a war-torn country and to build a better future for the Afghan people."
Shortly after the shooting, militants fired rockets at the international Serena luxury hotel. Officials say more than 100 people were rushed to an underground bunker, following the attack. There were no casualties.
The violence comes a day after a series of bomb attacks killed eight American soldiers and an Afghan civilian working with them in southern Afghanistan. The latest deaths make October's death count the highest monthly death toll since the American-led forces launched the anti-Taliban offensive in 2001. --------------
An Iraqi man is lifted off the ground as he grieves following the bomb blast outside offices of the governor of Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (right) visits the site of the bomb attacks yesterday afternoon
Devastation: Burnt bodies spill out of a blown-up overturned car
Grim: Rescuers carry a burnt body from the scene
An amateur video captures the moment one of the car bombs explodes
Carnage: A pair of powerful explosions went off near the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad and the offices of a Kurdish political party during yesterday's morning rush hour as people headed to work
Aftermath: An injured man speaks on his mobile phone as he sits outside the Karama hospital following yesterday's explosions
Iraqis inspect the badly damaged building of the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. Iraq police say that a pair of powerful explosions rocked downtown Baghdad went off in front of the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration and near the Ministry of Justice building during the morning rush hour as people headed to work.
Fire fighters load into an ambulance the body of a man killed by a massive bomb attack at the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. Iraq police say that a pair of powerful explosions rocked downtown Baghdad. The blasts went off in front of the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration and near the Ministry of Justice building during the morning rush hour as people headed to work.
Mourners attend the funeral of a victim who was killed in a suicide bombing grieve at his funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. On Sunday, at least 147 people were killed and 721 were wounded in two suicide bombings in the country's deadliest attack in more than two years.
Iraqis gather at the site of a massive bomb attack at the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. Iraq police say that a pair of powerful explosions rocked downtown Baghdad. The blasts went off in front of the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration and near the Ministry of Justice building during the morning rush hour as people headed to work.
Iraqi security forces inspect the site of a massive bomb attack at the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. Iraq police say that a pair of powerful explosions rocked downtown Baghdad. The blasts went off in front of the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration and near the Ministry of Justice building during the morning rush hour as people headed to work.
An Iraqi Army soldier stands guard as Iraqis gather at the site of a massive bomb attack at the Ministry of Justice in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. Iraq police say that a pair of powerful explosions rocked downtown Baghdad. The blasts went off in front of the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration and near the Ministry of Justice building during the morning rush hour as people headed to work.
Al-Qaida's umbrella group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in Baghdad that killed at least 155 people this week.
The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, says in a statement posted on the Internet that its "martyrs ... targeted the dens of infidelity."
The authenticity of the statement, posted late Monday on a Web site commonly used for militant messaging, could not be independently confirmed.
The same group also claimed responsibility for August bombings of two government ministries in Baghdad, when more than 100 people were killed.
Three major government buildings were destroyed or severely damaged in Sunday's blasts. The dead included two dozen children trapped in a bus leaving a day care center.
An al Qaeda-linked group has said it carried out the twin suicide bombings that killed 155 people in Baghdad on Sunday and revived doubts about security in the run-up to Iraq's elections in January.
The statement dated October 26 was posted by the Islamic State in Iraq group on a website often used by militants to announce responsibility for such attacks.
"Suicide bombers targeted the dens of infidelity and pillars of the rejectionist Shi'ite state in the land of the caliphate," the statement said.
It employed language often used by Sunni Arab militants to describe the Shi'ite Muslim majority that has dominated the Iraqi government since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
"Among the chosen targets were the ministry of oppression known as the ministry of justice and the Baghdad provincial assembly ... The enemies only understand the language of force," said the statement.
The authenticity of the claim could not be immediately verified.
The same group has said it was behind attacks near government ministries in Baghdad that killed 95 people in August.
Officials have said two mini-buses were used in Sunday's attacks, circumventing a ban on truck traffic in heavily policed central Baghdad.
Both were driven by suicide bombers from a nearby site, according to aerial images from U.S.-operated airships that hover over the city.
The January ballot is expected to focus on security gains under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after years of war and sticky questions about the distribution of power and oil wealth.
Insurgents are widely expected to try and upset an electoral process that is meant to prepare the way for an ordered withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq.
