As US troops draw down in Iraq and shift focus to Afghanistan, we will see an uptick in incidents like this one. Hopefully the Iraqi military shows some competence and is able to maintain the fragile peace.

Truck Bomb Kills Dozens in Northern Iraq

Kirkuk Blast Follows Maliki’s Call for Steadfastness if Violence Increases as U.S. Leaves

BAGHDAD, June 20 — A truck bomb killed at least 63 people Saturday as they were leaving a mosque near the contested northern city of Kirkuk, shattering a recent lull in violence and raising fears of renewed bloodshed as U.S. forces complete their withdrawal from Iraqi cities by the end of the month.

The bombing came shortly after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged a gathering in Baghdad to remain steadfast if the American withdrawal leads to a resurgence in attacks.

“I and you are sure that many don’t want us to succeed and celebrate this victory,” he said. “They are getting themselves ready to move in the dark to destabilize the situation, but we will be ready for them, God willing.”

Also Saturday, the British government said two bodies believed to be those of Britons taken hostage in 2007 were handed over to British officials in Iraq. The fate of three others seized with them remains unknown.

The hostages — computer consultant Peter Moore and his four bodyguards — were kidnapped by a Shiite militant group at a Finance Ministry building in Baghdad in May 2007. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the bodies had not been formally identified.

In the attack Saturday, a suicide bomber detonated a truck loaded with explosives as Shiite Muslim worshipers left the mosque after noon prayers in the northern town of Taza, 14 miles south of Kirkuk. The dead included women and children, officials said, and more than 170 people were wounded.

Read the entire article.

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