Suicide bombing kills at least 21 at Iraq army recruitment center

A suicide bomber killed at least 21 people at a military recruiting center in Iraq in a continuing standoff between al-Qaida militants and Iraqi forces. Video by Associated Press

Violence continued in Iraq on Thursday as a suicide bomber attacked a military recruiting center in Baghdad, killing at least 21 people.

Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Adam Schreck of The Associated Press reported that the attack “likely meant to send a message to the government and would-be army volunteers over the Iraqi troops’ ongoing push to retake two cities overrun by al-Qaida militants.”

The suicide bombing followed an attack Wednesday night in the Diyala Province, where gunmen killed 12 soldiers at an army barracks. Al-Qaida militants seized the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah in the Anbar province last week. Iraqi troops have faced off with the militants in an attempt to regain control of the cities.

Video by PBS NewsHour

In a statement released Thursday, Human Rights Watch said the Iraqi forces have unlawfully killed civilians and warned that a government blockade of the two cities is depriving civilians of food, water and fuel.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa Director for Human Rights Watch, said, “Civilians have been caught in the middle in Anbar, and the government appears to be doing nothing to protect them.”

H/T Bridget Bowman