This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/world/middleeast/another-wave-of-bombings-across-iraq.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Another Wave of Bombings Across Iraq Another Wave of Bombings Across Iraq
(about 3 hours later)
BAGHDAD — In another wave of bombing across Iraq on Sunday, insurgents targeted Shiite neighborhoods and security forces, officials said, killing at least 26. BAGHDAD (AP) — In another wave of bombings across Iraq on Sunday, insurgents struck Shiite neighborhoods and security forces, officials said, killing at least 26 people.
Sunday’s attacks were the latest instance in which insurgents coordinated attacks in multiple cities in a single day, apparently intending to rekindle widespread sectarian conflict and undermine public confidence in the beleaguered government. Insurgents coordinated attacks in multiple cities, the latest strikes in a campaign apparently intended to rekindle widespread sectarian conflict and undermine public confidence in the beleaguered government.
The frequent bombings has raised concerns about the government’s ability to contain the violence, since the last American troops in December after more than eight years of occupation and civil war that upended Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led minority power base and empowered Iraq’s long-repressed Shiite majority. The frequent bombings have raised concerns about the government’s ability to contain the violence, since the last American troops left in December after more than eight years of occupation and civil war that upended Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led minority power base and empowered Iraq’s long-repressed Shiite majority.
The deadliest attack on Sunday came in Taji, a former Al Qaeda stronghold north of Baghdad, where three explosive-rigged cars went off within minutes of each other. Police said eight people died and 28 were injured in the back-to-back early morning explosions. The deadliest attack on Sunday came in Taji, a former Al Qaeda stronghold north of Baghdad, where three explosive-rigged cars went off within minutes of one another. The police said eight people were killed and 28 were wounded in the early morning explosions.
In all, at least 82 people were wounded in attacks that stretched from the restive but oil-rich city of Kirkuk in Iraq’s north to the southern Shiite town of Kut. In all, at least 94 people were wounded in attacks that stretched from Kirkuk in northern Iraq to the southern Shiite town of Kut.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the violence, but car bombs are a hallmark of Al Qaeda. The network has vowed to take back areas of the country, like Taji, from which the Sunni insurgent network was pushed before American troops withdrew. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the violence, but car bombs are a hallmark of Al Qaeda. The insurgents have vowed to take back areas of the country, like Taji, from which they were pushed before American troops withdrew.
Shortly after the Taji attacks, police said a suicide bomber set off his explosives-packed car in the Shiite neighborhood of Shula in northwest Baghdad. One person was killed and seven wounded. Police could not immediately identify the target. A Shiite lawmaker, Hakim al-Zamili, a member of Parliament’s security and defense committee, said the attacks were a sign that Al Qaeda “is still in business.”
Shortly after the Taji attacks, the police said a suicide bomber set off his explosives-packed car in the Shiite neighborhood of Shula in northwest Baghdad. One person was killed and seven wounded. The police could not immediately identify the target.
Within an hour, another suicide bomber drove a minibus into a security checkpoint in Kut, about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three officers were killed and five wounded, Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdul-Hadi Mahbob said.Within an hour, another suicide bomber drove a minibus into a security checkpoint in Kut, about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three officers were killed and five wounded, Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdul-Hadi Mahbob said.
And in Iraq’s north, another officer was killed when security forces were trying to defuse a car bomb parked on the main highway between the cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato, the Kirkuk police chief Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir said. A second officer was wounded in the explosion, Mr. Qadir said. Kirkuk is about 180 miles north of Baghdad. In Baghdad’s bustling Karada neighborhood, a parked car laden with explosives went off next to a police patrol, killing a police officer and a civilian, officials said. Eight other people were wounded. The blast was followed minutes later by another parked car bomb, killing three civilians and wounding 12 others, the official said.
At about 10:30 a.m., another parked car bomb went off next to a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in the town of Madain, killing three Iraqis and injuring 11 others included seven Iranians, another police officer and health official said. Madain is mainly Sunni area 12 miles southeast of Baghdad. And in northern Iraq, a police officer was killed when security forces were trying to defuse a car bomb parked on the main highway between the cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato, the Kirkuk police chief, Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir, said. A second officer was wounded in the explosion, General Qadir said. Kirkuk is about 180 miles north of Baghdad.
In Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, a parked car bomb targeted a passing police patrol, killing two officers and injuring seven others, a police officer and health official said. And in the nearby town of Khan Bani Saad, nine miles northeast of Baghdad, yet another parked car bomb exploded near a market and killed one civilian and injured nine others, they added. At about 10:30 a.m., another parked car bomb went off next to a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in the town of Madain, killing three Iraqis and wounding 11 other people, including seven Iranians, said a police officer and a health official. Madain is mainly Sunni area 12 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in the town of Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad, when their patrol hit a roadside bomb, another police officer and health official said. Six other people, including four civilians were wounded. In Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, a parked car bomb exploded as a police patrol passed, killing two officers and wounding seven others, a police officer and health official said. And in the nearby town of Khan Bani Saad, nine miles northeast of Baghdad, another parked car bomb exploded near a market and killed one civilian and wounded nine others, the officials said.
And in Baghdad, another parked car bomb went off next to a police patrol, killing an officer and a civilian, other officials said. Eight other people were injured. Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in the town of Tarmiya, 30 miles north of Baghdad, when their patrol hit a roadside bomb, officials said. Six other people, including four civilians, were wounded.
Health officials in Taji, Tarmiyah and Baghdad confirmed the casualties. Health officials in Taji, Tarmiya and Baghdad confirmed the casualties.
Violence has dropped since the height of Iraq’s bloodshed a few years ago, but Iraqi forces have failed to stop the attacks that continue to claim lives almost daily.Violence has dropped since the height of Iraq’s bloodshed a few years ago, but Iraqi forces have failed to stop the attacks that continue to claim lives almost daily.