In Iraq, a Suicide Bombing Near Baghdad Shows That Violence Remains a Challenge to U.S. Withdrawal Plans

A suicide bomber killed as many as 33 people and wounded 46 just west of Baghdad today. It was the second major attack near Iraq's capital in a week.

The recent violence, at a level Baghdad hadn't seen in several months, comes just as the U.S. military begins drawing down its forces in the country.

The bombing targeted a reconciliation meeting between tribal leaders in the Sunni suburb of Abu Ghraib. The leaders, who had just come from a meeting at the town hall, were touring a marketplace thought to be secure when the bomber detonated an explosives belt.

The dead included some of the leaders, along with police and soldiers. Two Iraqi television journalists also were killed, and a third was seriously injured.

The assault follows two other recent bombings. On Sunday, an attack on a Baghdad police academy, undertaken by a bomber on a bicycle, killed more than 30 people and injured 56. And on Thursday, 10 were killed in a Babel province cattle market after a car bomb went off.

The spike in violence comes as the process to decrease the American military presence in Iraq has begun. President Obama said two weeks ago that the U.S "combat mission in Iraq will end" by Aug. 31, 2010, and on Sunday, the military announced that two combat brigades slated to return to the country this year—accounting for 12,000 people—would not be replaced.

And for Iraqis, the attacks are a reminder that, despite an increase in stability that has allowed many civilians to warily resume more normal lives, their country remains far from peaceful.

• Read more about Iraq.