The bombing of the Al Shifa Bridge in Mosul
Yesterday’s bombing at the al-Shifa bridge (overpass) in Mosul is a worse development than it looks. The bombing was a tanker bombing of the overpass itself and destroyed it completely. It also caused 20 people to be wounded mostly by flying glass it also caused severe damage to nearby buildings. (There was an attempted second bombing targeting the security forces responding to the bridge bombing. That device was in a booby trapped car it was detected and detonated remotely.)
The overpass that has been destroyed is on the west of Mosul. It linked Mosul to the outlying districts of Sinjar and Kaz Izir. It also linked Mosul to Tal Afar.
At present there are several ethnic cleansing campaigns going on in the vicinity of Mosul. The campaigns involving concerted death squad activity and massive bombings (such as the August 14th bombings) against the Yezhidi and the Turkmen are the two best known, however there are also concerted attempts being made to drive out Christians and Fayli. The area has a mixed population and is scheduled to vote on accession to the Kurdish region in December 2007. The effect of this bombing is to further isolate the city from its hinterland, to drastically reduce the number of routes available to security forces responding to incidents in Al-Shikhan, Tal Kaif, Sinjar, and the Qahtaniyah district and to increase the freedom of movement of armed groups operating in the districts west of Mosul and to facilitate the ethnic cleansing campaigns being conducted in the area.
Omar
Indexed under: Bridge Bombing Campaign, Bridges, Briefings, Mosul, Ninawa (Governorate)