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The 23 July 2012 Iraq attacks were a series of simultaneous, coordinated bombings and shootings that struck the Iraqi security force and Shi'ite Muslim communities. At least 116 people were killed and 299 wounded in the attacks, making them the deadliest attacks in the country since May 2010.BackgroundThe attacks occurred about seven months following the withdrawal of the United States military forces from the area, leaving the security of the country in the hands of the Iraqi security forces.AttacksNumerous attacks were conducted within hours of each other on 23 July 2012 across thirteen different cities in Iraq. Naharnet reported the number of towns and cities attacked as eighteen.[4] The number of attacks, on the other hand, was given to be thirty.[5] Two more attacks occurred late on 23 July 2012 increased the number of attacks to thirty-two.[1] The major targets of the attacks were security forces, government buildings and Shia Muslim neighbourhoods.[6]The first attack took place on an army base in Salahedin province around dawn.[5] In Taji, nearly 20 miles north of Baghdad, a series of bombs around a number of homes went off simultaneously; as police arrived and residents began searching the wreckage for survivors, a suicide bomber detonated himself, killing more.[7] At least 41 people were killed in this attack, considered the worst of the overall event.[8] A car bomb exploded near a government building in Sadr City in Baghdad, killing 16. At least five car bombs went off in Kirkuk.[2] The insurgents attacked a base in Dhuluiya, killing 15 soldiers.[2] In al-Husseiniya, a predominantly Shiite suburb in northeastern Baghdad and in Mosul, a total of six people were killed in bombing attacks.[7] Explosion in Yarmouk, another neighborhood of Baghdad, killed at least four people and injured another 24.[4] Nearly five people were also killed and 22 or 25 injured when a car bomb exploded near a busy market in Diwaniya.[7] Of all the sites attacked, only Diwaniya is an undisputed Shiite territory.[3] There were checkpoint shootings and bomb blasts in the ethnically mixed Diyala province, resulting in 11 dead and 40 wounded.[4] In the western city of Heet, a car bombing occurred near an army patrol, killing one soldier and injuring 10 others.[4] The other towns and cities suffered from bombings were Saadiya, Khan Beni-Saad, Tuz Khurmatu, Dibis, Samarra and Dujail.[2]In addition to all these attacks took place daytime, there were two more attacks late in the day. One of these attacks was a car bomb blast near a cafe in the Shi'ite Ameen district in southeastern Baghdad, killing six men and wounding 24.[1] The second was a roadside bombing near Baquba, a city northeast of Baghdad. The second blast killed three people and injured seven others.PerpetratorsThough no group has claimed responsibility, the attacks are believed to be orchestrated by al-Qaeda, seeking to gain control of the country following the departure of the American forces.[8][9] An announcement purported to be from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the current leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq known as the Islamic State of Iraq, had been broadcasted on 21 July 2012; in the announcement, al-Baghdadi declared the intention towards a new offensive to retake the country, a move claimed to be supported by the Sunni population of Iraq.[2][10] Previous attacks that have targeted the security forces have been attributed to al-Qaeda.
My husband and I just went to see the movie Dictator. I found it quite offensive, funny in places. Just wondering if it was extremely offensive to Arabs, or were they laughing also about it. I was shocked frankly at how they portrayed arabs as so promiscuous. Yet the girl at the end who marries him says she is Jewish, and somehow Jews come out looking clean. Do you think this was more propaganda to villify the Arabs? The main actor is Sacha Baron Cohen, obviously Jewish. I couldn't understand how they (Hollywood) could get away with something so racist, profiling etc. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-2PVh-Ht3U[/youtube]
I hope you had a good time watching the movie. In the Arab world not all American movies are shown in cinemas especially movies with too much violence scenes, porn films or movies that vilify Arabs. But the fact that in many American movies Arabs are the bad guys is well known. Of course Arabs feel humiliated and hated in the western world when they watch these movies on American or European channels, or even on Arabs channels owned by Europeans or Americans. I believe this hate is some sort of conspiracy to have oil under control so the rest of the world won't blame the U.S. when it does so as to the world Arabs are savages, killers, lunatics and terrorists. There is a documentary called: REEL BAD ARABS. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4157QYY3o4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]It's a little long but it shows clearly how Hollywood has kept this kind of stereo type for ages.