The final death toll of 152 plus 347 wounded make the massive truck bomb attack on Tal Afar the deadliest single blast of the Iraq war

debkafile: The bombing last week recalls al Qaeda’s tactic in destroying the Shiites Golden Dome of Samarra in Feb. 2006 as a provocation that triggered Iraq’s Sunni-Shiite sectarian war.
US commander Gen. David Petraeus condemned the “barbaric actions” of al Qaeda elements in the northern Iraqi town. In a written statement issued by the Multinational Force Iraq, the US army general said al Qaeda’s attacks are designed to divide the Iraqi people, reignite sectarian warfare and draw attention away from the improving security situation in Baghdad.
More than 100 tons of explosives destroyed 100 homes in Tal Afar’s Shiite district leaving a 23-meter wide crater. The blast triggered reprisal attacks in a Sunni district.