At least 40 killed in attacks across Iraq
Source: Agencies |
June 17, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition
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NEARLY a dozen apparently coordinated bombs and a shooting in cities across Iraq killed at least 40 and wounded dozens yesterday, raising fears of a return to widespread killing a decade after the US-led invasion.
Violence has spiked sharply in Iraq recently, with the death toll rising to levels not seen since 2008. Nearly 2,000 have died since the start of April.
Most of the car bombs hit Shiite-majority areas and were the cause of most of the casualties. The blasts hit half a dozen cities and towns in the south and center of the country.
There was no claim of responsibility for any of the attacks, but they bore the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq, which uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated attacks to target security forces, members of Iraq's Shiite majority, and others.
The blasts began early yesterday in the industrial area of the city of Kut, killing six people and wounding 15 others. That was followed by a series of car bombings, blasts and gun attacks involving several cities, including the oil-rich Basra and Shiite holy city of Najaf.
The attacks came a day after the leader of al-Qaida's Iraq arm, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, defiantly rejected an order from the terror network's central command to stop claiming control over the organization's Syria affiliate.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's comments reveal his group's determination to link its own fight against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with the cause of rebels trying to topple the Syrian government.
Violence has spiked sharply in Iraq recently, with the death toll rising to levels not seen since 2008. Nearly 2,000 have died since the start of April.
Most of the car bombs hit Shiite-majority areas and were the cause of most of the casualties. The blasts hit half a dozen cities and towns in the south and center of the country.
There was no claim of responsibility for any of the attacks, but they bore the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq, which uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated attacks to target security forces, members of Iraq's Shiite majority, and others.
The blasts began early yesterday in the industrial area of the city of Kut, killing six people and wounding 15 others. That was followed by a series of car bombings, blasts and gun attacks involving several cities, including the oil-rich Basra and Shiite holy city of Najaf.
The attacks came a day after the leader of al-Qaida's Iraq arm, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, defiantly rejected an order from the terror network's central command to stop claiming control over the organization's Syria affiliate.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's comments reveal his group's determination to link its own fight against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with the cause of rebels trying to topple the Syrian government.
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