The tragedy of the bridge

Azzaman

Terrorists have destroyed the Sarrafiya Bridge of which millions of Baghdadis entertain good old memories. The bridge, built seventy years ago and the oldest in Baghdad, was hit by a truck bomb explosion on April 12, sending several cars toppling into the River Tigris below.

Scores of people were killed and injured and the search for the dead is still continuing.

The bridge was a symbol of Baghdad and had escaped destruction by U.S. bombers in 1991 Gulf War which destroyed two major bridges in the capital.

We cannot believe the bombing of Sarrafiya Bridge to have been perpetrated by Iraqis because it is difficult to imagine Iraqis intentionally trying to obliterate their own heritage and culture.

The bridge was part of Baghdad cultural legacy and a place where boys and girls, men and women, young and elderly used to cross or spend time on the shores of the Tigris River, contemplating its majestic girders or watching trains and cars pass by. Link

The terrorists who carried out this heinous crime wanted to remove the few remaining landmarks of our heritage which link Iraqis as a nation to their past and give them hope of the future.Link