VZCZCXRO8100
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1541/01 1641246
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131246Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3448
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001541 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: DHI QAR MARKET BOMBING: PRIME SUSPECTS BELIEVED TO 
BE AQI-AFFILIATED; PRT TRAINING CENTER TREATS VICTIMS 
 
(U)  This message is Sensitive but Unclassified; handle 
accordingly.  Not for distribution on the Internet. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The explosion of a vehicle-borne improvised 
explosive device (VBIED) at the vegetable market in Al-Bathaa 
on June 10 claimed 19 lives and 81 wounded.  The Dhi Qar 
police chief attributed the bomb to an Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) 
cell operating "from a different province" and announced the 
detention of two suspects.  Police used warning shots to 
disperse a spontaneous demonstration against alleged police 
negligence in failing to deal with the illegally parked car 
housing the bomb.  At the request of provincial authorities, 
Nasiriyah referred four patients on June 10 to the PRT's 
Mittica Training Center for stabilization before being 
transferred to Baghdad.  Provincial authorities responded 
with an unexpected coordinated and decisive response that may 
constitute a favorable precedent for addressing Dhi Qar's 
problems.  End summary. 
 
Market Bombing 
-------------- 
 
¶2. (U) A VBIED exploded at a busy vegetable market in the 
town of Al-Bathaa, Dhi Qar province, at 9:00 a.m. on June 10. 
 The Department of Health reported on June 11 that the 
official toll is 19 people killed and 81 wounded, mainly 
women and children who had been shopping at the market. This 
was the largest violent loss of life in Dhi Qar since the 
bombing of an Italian military post in 2003 killed 26 people. 
 Authorities sent most of the wounded to Nasiriyah General 
Hospital, but medical facilities in Muthanna province, at COB 
Adder and the Mobile Surgical Unit at Dhi Qar PRT's Mittica 
training center also received the injured. 
 
Reaction 
-------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) En route to a meeting with the Governor at the time 
of the explosion, PRT Team Leader and 4/1 Armoned Division 
BCT Commander followed the Governor and the Provincial Chief 
of Police to the site.  Shortly after the blast, a crowed of 
distraught citizens, believing that the police had failed to 
act on warnings from witnesses about a suspicious vehicle, 
staged a spontaneous protest.  PRT staff witnessed police 
firing guns to break up the crowd of several dozens as it 
advanced on the police, reportedly injuring one man. 
(Comment:  Short-lived in itself, the confrontation could 
affect the popular perception of the Police Chief or 
Governor, depending upon whether the public holds police 
officers of the Governor's security detail responsible for 
the gunplay.  End comment.) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Confident that local hospitals could handle the 
incident, the provincial Director General of Health declined 
the PRT's offer for additional supplies.  Late on June 10, 
however, Nasiriyah Hospital authorities dispatched to the 
Mittica mobile surgical unit four patients with burns, head 
trauma and other injuries requiring stabilization before 
evacuation to Baghdad.  The U.S. military also received five 
victims, one of whom died. 
 
Police Accuse Al-Qaeda 
---------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Provincial Police Chief said publicly that the 
bombing was the work of an Al-Qaeda Iraq cell operating from 
"a different province."  (An unidentified police official 
quoted in the local media claimed the attackers had come from 
Mosul.)  The Police Chief said two people had been arrested, 
including the suspected triggerman.  Earlier press 
speculation also pointed to Sunnis displaced from Nasiriyah 
or disgruntled Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) 
supporters seeking to discredit the new Da'wa-run government, 
but presented no evidence to support these claims.  The 
Bathaa police chief was either suspended by the provincial 
QBathaa police chief was either suspended by the provincial 
Chief of Police pending a review of the incident or fired by 
the Governor, depending on the source.  On June 11, Minister 
for National Security Shirwan al-Waili visited Nasiriyah to 
discuss the incident with the Provincial Council. 
Nasiriyah's most prominent religious leader, Sheikh Nasri, 
condemned the "cowardly" attack publicly and called for unity 
in face of the bloodshed. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment: Whether there is any evidence to support 
the quick early arrests of suspects remains to be seen.  If 
charges hold, the rapid arrest would be a coup for Police 
Chief Sabah, who is strongly supported by the Prime Minister. 
 Low-level violence occurs in Dhi Qar but the indiscriminate 
targeting of large numbers of civilians is unheard of.  The 
rarity of incidents such as this bombing makes plausible 
local claims that the blast was the work of an outside 
 
BAGHDAD 00001541  002 OF 002 
 
 
network like Al-Qaeda.  Since the new Governor and Council 
took power, turf-building and egos had distracted Dhi Qar's 
new leadership from grappling fully with the province's 
fundamental issues.  The tragedy in Al-Bathaa produced among 
the province's leaders a short-term common, coordinated and 
decisive response that bodes well for future cooperation. 
End comment. 
HILL