THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Iraq is showing itself adept at the use of suicide bombers which has caused the populace to develop an admirable stoicism in the face of multiple murders.

A series of attacks north and west of Baghdad on Friday, including two suicide bombings, left at least 38 people dead, many of whom were members of security forces. Dozens more were wounded, Iraqi officials said.

In the first of the attacks, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden truck into a police brigade headquarters in the village of Injan, about 75 miles north of Baghdad, police officials said.

The explosion set off a firefight between other attackers and policemen. After it was over, nine police officers were dead, the officials said.

Hours later, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt among mourners attending a funeral for Nasir al-Alawani, a leader in the anti-al-Qaeda Sunni militia known also as Sahwa, who was killed a day earlier.

Some 10 mourners were killed and 27 were wounded in the attack in the city of Ramadi, 70 miles west of the Iraqi capital.

The Sahwa militia became prominent when its members joined U.S. troops in the fight against Al-Qaeda at the height of Iraq's bloodletting. Since then, it has been a target for Sunni insurgents who consider them traitors.

Since late December, Iraq's western cities have seen fierce clashes pitting government security forces and their tribal Sunni militia allies against Al-Qaeda-linked militants and other insurgent groups. The insurgents hold the city of Fallujah and parts of Anbar's provincial capital, Ramadi.

In other violence, police said gunmen sprayed an army checkpoint near the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, killing four soldiers. They also abducted nine soldiers before leaving the area, police said.

And back-to-back car bombings killed nine people and wounded 25 in Dibis, a town located near Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad.

Also, police said a roadside bomb hit a military convoy in the town of Beiji, north of Baghdad, killing five people and injuring seven.

Just change al-Qaeda to NRA and it is just like any schoolday in America. The Iraqis learned well from us.

And in our loyal client Shitholeistan, the Taliban has executed another attack on foreigners in their attempts to disrupt the up coming elections in that god-forsaken dump.

Four gunmen were swift as they entered the Serena Hotel, a luxury lodging in Kabul, although it took them a few minutes to find the restaurant that was their target. Afghan officials pieced together the details of a Thursday attack that left nine people dead, including four foreigners and two children who were shot in the head.

The Afghan capital has been hit by several attacks, but authorities appeared stunned that the fighters had managed to get through tight security at the Serena Hotel — considered one of the safest places to stay in Kabul.

Among the dead was Sardar Ahmad, 40, an Afghan journalist for Agence France-Presse, killed along with his wife and two of his children, the French news agency confirmed. It said the family's youngest son was undergoing emergency treatment after being badly wounded in the attack.

Ahmad also ran the Kabul Pressistan media company and joined AFP in 2003 to become the agency's senior reporter in Kabul. He covered all aspects of life, war and politics in his native Afghanistan, according to a statement tweeted by the agency.

The shooting spree is the latest in a series of high-profile attacks as the Taliban and allied fighters step up a campaign of violence before national elections on April 5.

It comes on the heels of an uptick in bombings and shootings targeting foreigners in Kabul, something that had been relatively rare. Earlier this month, a Swedish journalist was shot on the street execution-style, and a Lebanese restaurant popular with foreigners was attacked by a suicide bomber and gunmen in January.

The attacks show the Taliban are following through on their threat to use violence to disrupt next month's elections. The presidential vote will be the first democratic transfer of power since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Islamic militant movement. President Hamid Karzai is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.

Obviously they need to learn a few more lessons as Voter ID's are much more effective at keeping voters from the polls and they disturb the public much less.