Friday 17 August 2012

Multiple explosions hit Iraq, killing 22; dozens others wounded



Iraqi authoritie on Thursday reported multiple explosions, including seven car bombs, a suicide attack and shootings in nine cities and towns nationwide, a day after attacks left at least 22 dead and more than 100 others wounded, including 25 people who were seriously injured.

In Al-Garma, near the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, four policemen were killed and three others wounded by gunfire at a checkpoint, according to police officer Anas Mahmoud and Dr. Omar Dalli of the Fallujah General Hospital.

Minutes later, a bomb exploded on the road, causing three casualties among civilians as rescue workers rushed to the scene.

In the north Baghdad neighbourhood of Husseiniyah, a car bomb killed at least six people and wounded 26, according to an interior ministry official and a medical source.

In city of Kirkuk, the deadliest attack took place as four car bombs exploded between 8:15 and 9.30 in the morning, killing one person and injuring 20 others, according to a police official and Dr. Wali Karim from the main hospital in the city. Many members of the security forces were among the wounded, added the two sources.

Furthermore, in the town of Dibis, two roadside bombs near the home of a police captain killed his brother and wounded four others, including the captain himself. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties.

Bombings have also rocked the cities of Tuz and Khormatou; at least seven people died and 29 others were injured in a series of explosions, officials said.

On Wednesday, 13 people were killed in attacks north of Baghdad.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

According to senior officials at the Ministry of Interior, the 165 people killed this month include at least 76 security force members. Official figures put the number of people killed in attacks in July at 325, the highest monthly death toll since August 2010.

These attacks occurred amidst a highly tense political climate. Several political parties have accused Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who took office in 2006, of seeking to impose a new dictatorship in Iraq.

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