45 Dead as Iraq Rocked by Wave of Violence
A wave of attacks Tuesday in more than a dozen Iraqi cities killed at least 45 people on the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the country, just days before Baghdad hosts a landmark Arab summit.
The violence, which left more than 190 people wounded, bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida, which typically tries to launch coordinated nationwide mass-casualty bombing campaigns, although no one immediately claimed responsibility.
It was swiftly condemned by Iraq's parliament speaker as a bid by the jihadist group to derail this month's summit, while United Nations envoy Martin Kobler described the violence as "atrocious".
Bombings and shootings rocked 14 towns and cities spanning the northern oil hub of Kirkuk and the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, from 7:00 am (04:00 GMT), in the deadliest violence to strike Iraq in more than two months.
"We lost everything," said Mohammed Sobheh, a policeman wounded in the Kirkuk attack. "Not one of my colleagues is alive -- they were all killed."
"I will never forget their screams, as long as I live."
In central Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in the car park opposite the foreign ministry, despite dramatically heightened security in the capital in preparation for the March 27-29 Arab League summit.
At least three people were killed and nine wounded, officials said, underscoring concerns over Iraq's ability to maintain security for the meeting.
Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi condemned Tuesday's "brutal criminal" attacks, and said they were part of efforts by al-Qaida to "derail the Arab summit, and keep Iraq feeling the effects of violence and destruction."
Following the attacks, the government declared a week of public holidays from March 25 to April 1.
Coupled with Kurdish New Year festival Nowruz on Wednesday and the weekly Muslim day of prayer on Friday, much of the country will be largely closed until after the summit, while security forces have mooted the possibility of imposing a city-wide curfew on March 29, when Arab leaders are expected in Baghdad.
Tuesday's deadliest attacks occurred in Kirkuk and Karbala, where 26 people died in total.
In ethnically-mixed Kirkuk, a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle at a police building, killing 13 people and wounding 50, according to Major Salam Zangana. All of the dead were police, as were the vast majority of those hurt.
The explosion, which was followed minutes later by a smaller car bomb, also badly damaged dozens of police cars and nearby homes belonging mostly to the tiny Kakaiyah religious minority.
"We have also received parts of bodies, but we do not know who they belong to," said Mohammed Abdullah, a doctor at Kirkuk hospital.
In Karbala, two roadside blasts at the entrance to the city killed 13 people and wounded 48, according to provincial health spokesman Jamal Mehdi.
Karbala police spokesman Major Alaa Abbas gave the same casualty toll in the city, which is home to the shrines of revered Shiite leaders Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas.
Hours before Tuesday's foreign ministry attack, a car bomb set off by a suicide attacker in the center of the capital killed four people and wounded eight, officials said.
An early-morning gun attack on a Baghdad church also left three police dead.
Car bombs in Hilla, south of Baghdad, and Ramadi, west of the capital, killed four people and wounded 42, officials said.
A later roadside bombing in Ramadi targeting Anbar provincial governor Qassim Mohammed Abed left two people wounded, although Abed himself was unharmed.
Separate gun and bomb attacks in Salaheddin province, north of the capital, killed four people, including a city councillor, police said. Gunmen also killed a member of the Shabak minority in the main northern city of Mosul.
Bombings in Mosul, the refinery town of Baiji, the northern towns of Baquba, Daquq and al-Dhuluiyah, and the central town of Mahmudiyah left 32 people wounded. A car bomb in the Salaheddin city of Samarra caused no casualties.
Security forces also said they defused six more car bombs.
Tuesday's violence was Iraq's deadliest day since January 14, when 53 people were killed in a suicide bombing outside the southern port of Basra.
The attacks come on the ninth anniversary of the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq which ousted Saddam Hussein, and just days before Baghdad hosts the Arab League summit, the first meeting of the 22-nation bloc to be held in the Iraqi capital since Saddam's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Officials insist Iraq's forces are capable of maintaining security for the summit, but admit they may need to effectively shut down Baghdad to do so.
Source: Agence France Presse
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