Iraqi Government Attacked in Planned Series by Suicide Bombers and Gunmen

Mar 14, 2013 04:40 AM EDT

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the government of Baghdad by multiple suicide bombers and gunmen, which claimed 25 lives in downtown Baghdad.

On Thursday at 1 p.m., a suicide bomber detonated himself in the lobby of the Justice Ministry, which is enclosed by security checkpoints and fencing, according to Christian Science Monitor. By standers were killed. Three gunmen, armed with rifles, then stormed the building and exchanged fire with police before being killed themselves. Then, another car bomb targeted this area.

In another part of town, another suicide car bomber targeted an Interior Ministry facility.

In 2011, Iraq suffered more terrorist attacks and deaths from terrorist attacks than any other country but Afghanistan.

Thursday's events in Baghdad, a complex, well-coordinated attack on the government in the heart of the capital, are in some ways a culmination of that rising trend. The Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has sidelined Sunni political rivals, when it hasn’t pursued politically-motivated terrorism investigations against them.