Car Bomb Lesson Ends Badly, Kills 21 'Students'

The lesson here was not exactly intended: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants learning how to make car bombs today accidentally set off their own bomb at a training camp in the countryside north of Baghdad, leaving at least 21 dead and resulting in two dozen arrests, Iraqi officials said. A police officer said the ISIS instructor was giving a lesson when he accidentally used a belt with live explosives; the New York Times notes that those killed were students, though it puts the number of dead at 22 and says another 15 were injured. The instructor is what the Times calls a "prolific recruiter," and an Iraq Army officer dubiously praised him for being "able to kill the bad guys for once."

Security forces rushed to the area and arrested 12 wounded suspected militants plus another 10 trying to flee the area. Authorities found seven car bombs—all without plates—several explosive belts, and roadside bombs after searching two houses and a garage in the dense area, offering a rare glimpse into the workings of militants behind a resurgence in violence in the country. Bomb experts began working immediately to defuse the explosives. Meanwhile, authorities in the northern city of Mosul said that parliamentary speaker Osama al-Nujaifi escaped an assassination attempt after a roadside bomb went off next to the motorcade. (More suicide bomber stories.)