As if this day wasn’t bloody enough already: twin car bombs detonating in a west Baghdad bus station have killed 26 people at least. If I’m not mistaken, that teeming bus station is the one pretty close to the Green Zone.

Every year at this time, Sunni terrorists attempt mass murder of Shiite pilgrims on their way to the holy city of Karbala for the Arbaeen holiday. Last year was the safest Arbaeen since the 2003 invasion, thanks to the troop surge. This Arbaeen is off to an awful start. The U.N.’s chief representative to Iraq called the bombings "clearly designed to provoke sectarian tensions," which seems pretty correct.

Crossposted to The Streak.