Baghdad Bridges, Falling Down

A suicide bomber on Sunday detonated his payload beside a support pillar of a vital bridge and brought it down, killing three American GI’s who were crushed under the rubble of shattered concrete.

Iraqi police said the overpass was a vital link across the highway for villagers in the area because the other spans have been taken over by U.S. forces. A police officer in nearby Iskandariyah, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said a curfew had been imposed on vehicles and pedestrians after the attack and earlier bombings of a mosque and a Sunni political party's headquarters that caused some damage but no casualties.

Drivers coming from both directions were told to turn back while the U.S. forces worked on Monday, causing traffic jams for much of the morning until the word spread to avoid the route.

That is the fourth bridge that has been targeted in recent weeks. This targeting of vital infrastructure is troubling. When vital infrastructure is targeted, the ultimate goal is as much psychological as it is strategic, and on that front, they are winning.