Coordinated Bombings Hit a Dozen Iraqi Cities
A coordinated onslaught of suicide bombs, parked car bombs and roadside bombs ripped through more than 12 Iraqi cities on Monday killing nearly 70 people in one of the country's deadliest days this year. The bloody campaign disrupted what was a relatively peaceful month of Ramadan and, according to Iraqi army commander Lt. Col. Hachem Neama Abbas, "is evidence that Al Qaeda is still effective." As new casualty tallies continue to stream in, here's what we know so far about the various bomb plots throughout the country:
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Kirkuk In this northern city, four police officers were killed after a car bomb exploded near a police patrol, reports The Associated Press. "Then about thirty minutes later one person was killed when a motorcycle with a bomb planted inside it exploded," reports the news agency. "Late Sunday, four bombs also blew up near a Syrian Orthodox Church in Kirkuk. No one was injured in the attack but the walls of the church were damaged."
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Baghdad A number of explosions rocked Bahgdad Monday, reports Mohammed Tawfeeq at CNN. "A suicide car bomber targeted an Iraqi army base in Khan Bani Saad, north of Baghdad, killing at least eight people and wounding 21," ministry officials told the news network. "A string of explosions rocked Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding 29, the officials said. Among the attacks were two car bombings that targeted an Iraqi army patrol and an Education Ministry convoy, the said."
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Kut This central Iraqi city suffered the day's worst violence, reports The Washington Post's Annie Gowen. "Two bombs exploded in a busy jewelry market in the city center of Kut, killing at least 34 and injuring more than 50," reports Gowen. "Insurgents detonated a bomb at about 8:30 a.m. in a crowded area near a jewelry market, according to Dhiaa Al Deen Al Aabudi, the city’s health director. About 10 minutes later, a car bomb detonated in the same place. In all 34 people were killed and about 70 injured, some critically."
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Najaf According to the AP, "Just outside the holy city of Najaf, a suicide car bomber plowed his vehicle into a checkpoint outside a police building, said Luay al-Yassiri, head of the Najaf province security committee."
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Diyala province According to the Washington Post, "In Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, 13 people, including four Iraqi army officers, were killed in a string of car bombs, explosives and shootings. A police official there said he believed the commanders of the group Sons of Iraq were targeted by insurgents." Officials tell the AP that 32 were injured in the attacks.
Karbala Mohammed Tawfeeq at CNN reports that "In Twareej, near of the southern holy city of Karbala, a car bomb exploded near a police station, killing at least eight people and wounding 20, two officials at the Interior Ministry told CNN." The AP indicates that the bomb was in a parked car.
Tikrit In this northern city, men wearing suicide belts were dressed in military uniforms and bombed a government compound, reports the AP. "The men parked their vehicle and then walked to a building housing the anti-terrorism police. When the men approached the building, the guards ordered them to stop and then opened fire," the news agency reports. "One bomber was immediately killed but the other managed to get inside the building before blowing himself up and killed three people, al-Asi said. Ten people were also injured in the attack."
Anbar CNN reports that "in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province, a man building a homemade bomb in his house in Falluja inadvertently detonated it, the officials said. The explosion killed the man's 5-year-old son and wounded his wife and three other children, they said."
