BAGHDAD – As violence in Iraq has worsened with attacks hitting a wider array of targets, security officials have held an unusual seminar for cafe owners -- how to stop a suicide bomber.



From employing private security guards to reducing the number of open entrances, officials gave tips on spotting and deterring militants, hoping to curb the country’s worst wave of violence since 2008.



Shootings and bombings have struck all manner of targets in Baghdad and elsewhere, but cafes – where football-mad Iraqis often gather to watch the latest European games – have been badly hit.



Nearly 50 cafes have been bombed nationwide since unrest surged in April -- 25 in Baghdad alone. The most recent – a suicide bombing in the southwestern neighbourhood of Bayaa – killed 15 people on November 21.



“The security situation faced by cafes means they should appoint one or two guards and close all but one entrance to control the flow of people and stop terrorists who wear explosives belts and want to kill people in cold blood,” said Major General Saad Jaafar, deputy chief of Baghdad’s security command centre.

Jaafar also suggested that cafe proprietors instal security cameras.



“The security forces need help from Iraqi citizens,” he said, adding quickly: “This does not mean the security forces are unable to protect the citizens.”



The violence has hit wide swathes of the population, from security forces and government officials to civilians visiting cafes, mosques and football pitches, with people killed at all times of day and night.



In all, more than 6,000 have been killed this year nationwide and nearly 950 in November alone, according to an AFP tally of reports from security and medical officials.



Measures to tackle the bloodshed include essentially barring half of the cars from Baghdad’s streets on any given day, to trumpeting operations against militants that officials say have led to hundreds of arrests and the killing of dozens more.



But the violence has not ceased, hurting trade for cafe owners whose businesses are typically packed for matches ranging from Spain’s La Liga to Britain’s Premier League, as well as the exploits of Iraq’s national team. – AFP