Monday, March 05, 2007

Burning Books--and Their Buyers

Baghdad book market bombing kills 30
A car bomb ripped through Baghdad's oldest book market on Monday, killing 30 people, setting shops ablaze and leaving body parts scattered across the symbolic heart of Iraq's intellectual life.

At least 65 people were also wounded in the powerful blast on Mutanabi Street, an ancient centre of learning and culture and a rare pleasure for the capital's war-weary citizens, a security official said.

Many shops packed with books caught fire and the market was littered with blood-splattered pages after the attack, the latest assault on a US-Iraqi plan aimed at stemming bloodshed in the capital.
Full story from Agence France-Presse

How fortunate I am to live where it's safe to visit a bookstore (especially when there's one just a few doors up the street).

1 comment:

Sam said...

I just saw this in the Guardian. It's so frustrating not to be able to DO something about all this senseless violence. Although I bet there is a lot more sense behind it than the government lets on. Most likely as soon as all the oil rights get signed over to foreign investors (with the lion's share going to the US) and Iraq oil de-nationalized, the violence will mysteriously cease.