Iraq sees bloodiest day this year as nationwide attacks kill at least 91

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Police investigate car bombings in Iraq's southern Basra on Monday. At least 91 Iraqis were killed and more than 300 others wounded on Monday as insurgents staged a new wave of attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces across the country. (Reuters/Xinhua Photo)

BAGHDAD, May 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 91 Iraqis were killed and more than 300 others wounded on Monday as insurgents staged a new wave of attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces across the country, Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

As the most fatal attacks among Monday's scores of explosions and shootings, a twin car bomb explosions, followed by a third suicide bombing, at a textile factory in Hilla, capital of Babil Province, left at least 36 dead and 140 others injured.

In Baghdad, nine Iraqi security members were killed and 23 people wounded in a series of shootings and blasts targeting security checkpoints and police patrols in the early morning on Monday. Most of the injured were security members.

In two other separate incidents in the capital, three people were killed and 16 others wounded in a car bomb explosion near the town hall of Tarmiyah in the northern suburbs. The town's mayor and some of his guards were among the wounded, police said.

In western Baghdad, a car bomb was detonated at a popular market in the Abu Ghraib suburb, leaving three dead and 12 others injured.

Iraqi forces tightened security in Baghdad after the spate of attacks, as police and army set up mobile checkpoints on main streets.

Meanwhile, two bombs went off at a crowded popular market close to a Shiite mosque in Wasit Province, killing at least eight and injuring more than 70.

In Anbar Province, four people died and 20 others were wounded early Monday in a series of bomb attacks, which hit houses of families who have some of their members working in the Iraqi security forces.

Two Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and four others wounded in Mosul, capital of northern Nineveh Province, when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a checkpoint in the Kokajli area.

In southern Basra, at least 19 people were killed and dozens wounded Monday afternoon in three explosions.

Seven others were killed in other minor attacks across the country.

"These attacks came in response to the killings by Iraqi forces of al-Qaida leaders -- Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri last month," said Sabah al-Shiekh, professor of politics at Baghdad University.

"The way of carrying out attacks in different parts of the country gives the impression that al-Qaida is behind them," he said.

" Al-Qaida wants to send a message that they still exist in Iraq and can carry out deadly attacks," said the analyst, stressing that Iraq's security forces should continue high vigilance against more possible attacks.

Monday's massive attacks came after Iraq's stalled political process began to move forward, as the country's electoral authorities announced Sunday they would send the initial poll results to the Supreme Court for ratification except those of Baghdad, where a recount is underway over alleged fraud.

On May 4, Iraq's two major Shiite parties, the State of Law alliance led by incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Iraqi National Alliance formed a coalition. With 159 seats, the new alliance became the largest in the 325-member parliament and got more chances of forming the new government.

The merging dealt a heavy blow to former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqia List, which took the most seats with 91 in the elections. The Sunni-backed secular bloc has not found major partners to set up a coalition.

Observers said if the Iraqia List is excluded from the new government, Iraq's minority Sunnis will feel politically marginalized again, potentially prompting a return to sectarian violence which peaked in 2006 and 2007 in the country.



Security personnel and rescuers work at the site of a bomb attack that occurred in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, May 10, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)



Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack that occurred in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, May 10, 2010. Bombers and gunmen seen as linked to a battered but still lethal al Qaeda killed at least 91 people on Monday in a day-long wave of attacks on markets, a textile factory, checkpoints and other sites across Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Security personnel and rescuers work at the site of a bomb attack that occurred in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, May 10, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑๑۩۞۩๑

Sphere: Related Content