BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomb targeting the Baghdad military headquarters exploded Sunday killing two soldiers and wounding eight bystanders, the Iraqi military said.
Spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said guards at the eastern Baghdad military command building in the Bab al-Muadham neighborhood opened fire at the car as it came speeding toward them before exploding.
Security has been high in Baghdad in past days in anticipation of a new wave of attacks to mark the change in the U.S. mission.
Insurgents have intensified their operations on Iraqi police and soldiers, making August the deadliest month for Iraqi security personnel in two years.
The Iraqi security forces were left in charge of protecting the country last Wednesday when President Barack Obama declared an end to U.S. combat operations in the country, but many doubt Iraq's police and army are match for the well armed insurgency determined to undermine the Shiite-led government.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, is struggling to keep his job after his political coalition came in a close second to a Sunni-dominated alliance in March parliamentary elections. Six months later, there is still has no new government.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have long worried that political instability would lead to widespread violence in Iraq, and the lack of a power-sharing agreement among the competing leaders has only increased fears.
Last week al-Maliki put his nation on its highest level of alert for terror attacks, warning of plots to sow fear and chaos in the country. He said insurgents would try to exploit widespread frustration with years of frequent power outages and problems with other public services by staging riots and attacks on government offices.
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