Bombs in Baghdad

The horrible thing, for the Iraqis, our soldiers, the contractors, is that this will most certainly get much worse before it gets any better. The contractors themselves will probably become greater primary targets, as have foreign oil-workers in Saudi Arabia:

BAGHDAD, June 14 — A truck packed with explosives rammed into a convoy of foreign contractors and exploded in a massive fireball today, killing at least 13 people during morning rush hour.

Minutes later, a crowd of young men poured into the streets and rushed toward the wreckage.

As Iraqi police officers stood by, the mob stomped on the hoods of the crushed vehicles and smashed the windows, and lit American flags on fire.

"Oh Ali!" some yelled.

"Long live Sadr!" shouted others, referring to radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.

A squad of American soldiers arrived shortly afterward and was greeted by a hail of rocks. The soldiers stayed for a few minutes and then pulled back.

It was the second car bomb in 24 hours, following an attack on Sunday that killed 12 Iraqis. It had been months since car bombs so fatal had been detonated in Iraq, and the incidents marked a surge in violence as a sweltering summer filled with political tensions began to set in. With no end to the insurgency in sight, many Iraqis — including those who once supported the ouster of Saddam Hussein — profess to having no confidence in the occupation.