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Mayhem in Baghdad, Beirut

Back-to-back blasts in Baghdad and Beirut are a grim reminder of the terror at work in the volatile region.

The killing of at least 50 people in Baghdad and Hilla in a wave of car bombings, and the violence replicated in the Lebanese capital a day later on Wednesday underscores the impression that a coordinated conspiracy is at work to hit out at people and nullify the efforts of nation-building. In Iraq the majority community is being targeted and in Lebanon, it seems, efforts are being made to stir up sectarian unrest by putting the Hezbollah in the line of fire. The systematic targeting of Iranian cultural and diplomatic premises for the second time is a case in point.

As far as Iraq is concerned, the government writ is getting weaker day by day, especially since Al Qaeda and the likes have taken over the western regions of Fallujah and Anbar. Thousands have been killed and maimed in blasts and suicide attacks with the focus on attacking pilgrims. This warrants special security measures and an unflinching commitment from the regional states to ensure sectarian and communal harmony in Iraq and elsewhere.

The war in Syria has already ushered in fissures across the region, and unscrupulous elements are out to widen the already existing state-centre rifts by indulging in acts of sabotage. Hezbollah, the pro-Iran militia, made its priorities clear earlier this week when its leader Hassan Nasrallah said that his men will continue to fight beside the Syrian forces until and unless other foreign factors made their exit. This is tantamount to more warfare and less of attention on the political process for attaining a truce. The bloodshed in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria is interlinked.