As the Obama withdrawal from Iraq ramps up, so does violence

From the Guardian comes the headline Iraqi Central Bank raided by militants disguised in military uniforms

The senior officer said scores of militants then entered the eight-story building in an apparent attempt to rob the vaults, known to hold gold bars, millions of dollars in cash and Iraqi dinars.

The attack intensified with each explosion, and within minutes gunfire was resounding throughout Baghdad's oldest merchant district, Rashid Street, forcing shopkeepers to barricade their premises and flee.

"The police were shooting everywhere, in the air and randomly," one vendor, who abandoned his clothes shop, said. "I don't know what was left behind, but there were explosions all the time."

Read the whole thing.

Aaron B. Gardner