bin Laden's Death: Iraqis' mixed emotions

We, the U.S., tour apart the pandora's box and opened the floodgates of destruction well beyond that which we did, in Iraq, expanded in Afghanistan and in and out of the region!

Iraqis’ mixed emotions over bin Laden’s killing

Al-Qaeda leader is not thought to have ever set foot in Iraq, but it became one of his main battlegrounds.

'There are new al-Qaeda leaders who belong to a generation after bin Laden and are even more blood thirsty and more extreme'

2011-05-09 - Iraq, a nation that has endured a steady barrage of al-Qaeda assaults that has claimed thousands of lives, reacted to the killing of Osama bin Laden this week with a mixture of relief and anger amid fears of further attacks.

On May 4, four days after United States president Barack Obama announced the al-Qaeda leader had been killed in a bold and secretive mission in Pakistan, a suicide bomber targeted the directorate of emergency police in Hilla, Babil province, killing 15 and injuring 68. Most were policemen, according to authorities.

“This is al-Qaeda’s reaction to bin Laden’s killing,” Kadhim Toman, chairman of Babil provincial council, told IWPR as he glanced at the collapsed building. “We are expecting an increase in terrorist attacks as a result of Bin Laden’s killing.”

The province was once a stronghold of Sunni militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda during the sectarian violence that engulfed Iraq as early as 2005.

Iraqi security forces have been put on high alert for possible retaliation from Islamic extreme groups since American commandos killed Bin Laden. Major General Qassim Atta, spokesman of the Baghdad Operations Command, said in a press conference earlier this week that Iraq is taking “precautionary measures”, without giving further details. {continued}