A pair of deadly suicide bombings that killed 155 people in Baghdad demonstrate the security challenges facing the country as the U.S. prepares to pull out its troops in the next two years.
The twin bombings occurred Sunday, hitting both the Baghdad Provincial Administration Building and the Justice Ministry. In addition to the scores of deaths, an estimated 500 people were injured. Authorities believe that an estimated 1,700 kilograms of explosives were involved in the deadly attacks.
Iraqis continued to mourn the deaths Monday, the day after U.S. President Barack Obama gave his condolences to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by telephone.
"Sadness is overwhelming today in the office," said a government employee who did not want her name used publicly. "It's as if we are sitting at a funeral in the office because many of our colleagues and people we know were killed."
Al-Maliki blamed al Qaeda and Baath Party members from the Saddam Hussein regime.
He pledged to punish those responsible, saying their goal was to "spread chaos in the country, undermine the political process and prevent the holding of parliamentary elections."
Outside Iraq, questions were being raised as to how the Iraqi government will manage its security problems once the U.S. pulls its troops out of Iraq.
Middle East expert Meir Javedanfar said the government faces an uphill battle, at least initially.
"I think they are going to find it very difficult, initially. I think, in fact, we could see an up-surge in attacks if and when American troops do leave by 2011," Javedanfar told CTV's Canada AM during a phone interview from Tel Aviv.
Beyond the political issues, many Iraqi military officials have suggested they do not have the equipment they need to keep their country safe, he said.
"I think a ramp-up in terms of supplying suitable military equipment to Iraq, prior to U.S. withdrawal, would be very suitable," Javedanfar added.
Harlan Ullman, a senior adviser with the Atlantic Council in Washington, said the intent of the Sunday bombings -- and other recent attacks -- was clearly to cause chaos for the government.
"Clearly, these series of bombings...have been directed against government buildings and government offices to destabilize and discredit the al-Maliki government," Ullman told Canada AM during an interview from Washington on Monday morning.
"That will have real impact on al-Maliki, it also will heighten the tensions between and among the Kurds, the Shias, the Sunnis," he said.
Looking forward to the future, the Iraqi government will be fighting to achieve its promise of maintaining security in and around the country's capital, Ullman said.
"The issue here is that the al-Maliki government is still vulnerable. The Americans, on the other hand, I think, will stick to their pull-outs. There's really not much the Americans can do, except to go back in large numbers, and we've already made up our minds that we're going to be reducing our forces to below 50,000 and be out of the country almost entirely by 2011," he said.
With files from The Associated Press
