Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has removed the head of security forces in Baghdad from his post, a day after a series of deadly bombing attacks killed nearly 130 people in the capital city, his office announced Wednesday.
Prime Minister has "ordered the removal of Lt Gen Abboud Qanbar from his post," a statement from Maliki's office said, adding that the outgoing security chief will be replaced by the deputy chief of the Iraqi army, Lt Gen Ahmed Hashem.
A total of five suicide car bombings rocked the Iraqi capital city on Tuesday, killing at least 127 people and injuring 448 others. It was the third such major attack since August, and the worst since a twin car bombing killed and wounded hundreds of people in late October. They came just two days after Iraq's parliament approved a new election law and set delayed polls for March.
In Tuesday's attacks, all the bombs exploded within minutes of the first blast that occurred in central Baghdad at 10.25 a.m. local time. Two car bombs exploded near the Interior Ministry, the Labor Ministry and the Finance Ministry, while two more struck in central Baghdad and another targeted a police patrol in Dora in the south of the city.
In addition to Tuesday's attacks, seven more people were killed in and around Baghdad in three separate bombing attacks on Wednesday. While two people were killed after a bomb exploded in the northeastern Baghdad, two others were killed in another bomb attack in the Qahira neighborhood in northern Baghdad. Also, three civilians were killed Wednesday when a bomb exploded inside a minibus in the town of Mahmoudiya, some 19 miles south of Baghdad.
The replacement of Baghdad's security chief was prompted by widespread criticism of the country's security forces and parliamentarians, with many Iraqis questioning the government's capability in dealing with the country's deteriorating security situation ahead of the upcoming elections.
There has been an increase in violence following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from towns and cities of Iraq in June, with responsibilities of urban security now resting with Iraqi forces. The 130,000 combat troops of the U.S. army have since been relocated to rural bases in Iraq, some six years after the invasion. The relocation is in line with a bilateral security agreement to pullout all U.S. troops from Iraq end 2011.
The sacking of Baghdad's security chief comes just hours after Iraq's Presidential Council postponed the parliamentary elections by a day, setting 7th March as the revised date for the long-awaited vote. The US military in Iraq has warned of a possible rise in violence ahead of the March 7 parliamentary elections.
The postponement of the elections by a day came after Kurds reportedly objected to the March 6 schedule since it would coincide with the anniversary of a peace treaty between Iraq and Iran. Kurdish politicians claim that the treaty led to violations of the rights of Iraqi Kurds.
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