Iraq 4-Day Death Toll Climbs To 200

Iraq 4-Day Death Toll Climbs To 200
Senior Commander Calls Violence Surge 'A Statement'

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2006
An elderly Iraqi woman cries after identifying the body of her son, in downtown Hillah, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2006. An explosives-rigged bicycle detonated near an army recruiting center in the city south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 people. (AP Photo/Alaa Al- Marjani)

Violence across Iraq has spiked in recent days, with more than 200 people killed since Sunday — despite U.S. and Iraqi officials' claims that a new security operation in the capital has lowered Sunni-Shiite killings there.

(CBS/AP) A roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad's oldest and largest wholesale market district, killing at least 24 people and wounding 35, part of a surge in bloodshed Wednesday that left 52 dead, authorities said.

Earlier, an explosives-rigged bicycle blew up near an army recruiting center in a city south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 people.

Violence across Iraq has spiked in recent days, with more than 200 people killed since Sunday in clashes, bombings or shootings — despite U.S. and Iraqi officials' claims that a new security operation in the capital has lowered Sunni-Shiite killings there, which had risen in June and July.

One senior commander said, "The bad guys are trying to make a statement," reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann. Coalition commanders say this mayhem can be brought under control — and that given time, Iraqi forces will be able to do it on their own.

"I don't have a date," said Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, "but I can see over the next 12 to 18 months, I can see the Iraqi security forces progressing to the point where they can take on the security responsibilities for the country — with very little coalition support."

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