Attacks in more than a dozen cities across Iraq killed 67 people yesterday, including 40 in twin blasts blamed on Al-Qaeda in the southern city of Kut, in the country’s bloodiest day in more than a year.
The surge of violence raises questions over the capabilities of Iraq’s forces after its leaders agreed to open talks with the US over a military training mission to last beyond a projected year-end American withdrawal.
The attacks, which took place in 17 cities and wounded nearly 250 people, were quickly condemned by Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, who blamed security leaders for unspecified “violations, and one of Iraq’s most senior clerics, who called for top officials to “give clear answers” over failings.
In yesterday’s worst attack, a roadside bomb in the centre of Kut, 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) was followed minutes later by a nearby car bomb, medical and security officials said.
“I was on my way to my shop in the market and suddenly I felt myself being thrown to the ground,” said 26-year-old Saadun Muftin, speaking from the city’s Karama hospital.
“After that I found myself in the hospital with wounds all over my body.”
Another shopkeeper, Mohammed Jassim, described “smoke everywhere” in the square where the blasts took place.
Ghalid Rashid Khazaa, health spokesman for Wasit province, of which Kut is the capital, put the toll at 40 dead and 65 wounded, with both figures including women and children. Security officials cordoned off the site of the attacks in their aftermath.
The attack was the worst single incidence of violence in Iraq since March 29, when Al-Qaeda commandos staged a massive assault on provincial government offices in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, eventually killing 58 people.
The violence, the deadliest since May 2010, shattered a relative calm in Iraq during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began at the start of August. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.
“Today’s attacks were not a surprise,” said Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta, who said several other attacks planned for yesterday had been disrupted.
“Every three or four months, Al-Qaeda carries out operations in order to prove they are still here.”
US and Iraqi commanders say while Al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups are markedly weaker compared to the peak of Iraq’s sectarian war in 2006 and 2007, they are still capable of carrying out massive attacks.
“Until when will this negligence continue? Until when will these terrorists attack freely?” said Ali Basheer al-Najafi, spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Basheer al-Najaf, one of Iraq’s most senior clerics. “These are important questions, and officials must give clear answers.”