BAGHDAD — The explosion rocked the busy square Wednesday as morning commuters were wolfing down breakfast and shopkeepers were opening for business. The death toll was relatively small: four.
But the psychological toll from the blast on Saadoun Street and from a string of attacks this week in Baghdad was big.
Iraqis in the square found themselves surrounded by the dead and wounded -- and the dread that came with realizing that their nightmare was not over, even if overall violence in the country was down.
"Our fears and concerns have come back after this series of explosions. This one especially frightened us a lot," said Ziad Shallal Shuraifi, a vendor on the busy street. "We are now afraid of any carton left near the roadside, any nylon bag, any car left near us."
It's no wonder. By nightfall, Iraqi police said 23 people were dead in attacks across Baghdad.
Since Monday, according to police statistics, roadside bombs, car bombs and suicide bombers wearing explosive belts have killed 58 people in the capital. Deaths elsewhere included two Christian women who police said were killed by unidentified gunmen in the northern city of Mosul, where Christians say they have been caught in the middle of a war for power between Kurds and Arabs.
Several Iraqis who witnessed the violence noted the heavy presence of Iraqi security checkpoints near Saadoun Street, in the eastern part of the capital, and elsewhere and said it showed that nobody could be trusted to keep them safe. Some also said it was a sign that Iraqi forces were not ready to protect the city if U.S. troops withdrew.
U.S. military officials said that this week's violence, coming after a steady downward trend in attacks, does not mean insurgents are staging a comeback, and they disputed the casualty figures provided by Iraqi sources.
Baghdad and its environs continue to experience an average of four attacks a day on security forces and civilians, compared with more than 20 a day about a year ago, Army Brig. Gen. William Grimsley, deputy commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, said Monday after bombers killed 31 people in northeast Baghdad's Kasra district.
"We're in the post-Ramadan, pre-provincial election, post-U.S. election season," he said, attempting to explain how developments here and abroad could provoke insurgents to step up activities.
