Violence in Iraq surged as the Iraqi people were marking the 9th anniversary of the US invasion that ended with resilience and resistance
Violence in Iraq surged as the Iraqi people were marking the 9th anniversary of the US invasion that ended with resilience and resistance.
The spate of attacks in half a dozen Iraqi cities on Tuesday killed at least 30 people, including two Iranian visitors, Al-Manar correspondent reported. More than 160 people were wounded in the early morning attacks.
The two biggest bomb attacks were in the Bab Baghdad region near the holy city of Karbala, and in the northern oil hub of Kirkuk, according to Al-Manar correspondent.
13 people were killed and 48 wounded in the first attack while nine people were killed and 42 wounded in the other one.
In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot opposite the foreign ministry, security and medical officials said, despite dramatically heightened security measures in the capital in preparation for the March 27-29 Arab League summit.
A car bomb targeting a police office in Kirkuk, meanwhile, killed nine policemen and wounded 42 people, the vast majority of them police, according to Dr Mohammed Abdullah at the city's hospital.
A car bomb in the central town of Hilla, south of the capital, killed two people and wounded 31 others, provincial security committee chief Haidar al-Zambur said.
A car bomb set off by a suicide attacker in central Baghdad killed two people and wounded eight, security and medical officials said.
Another car bomb in Ramadi, capital of western Anbar province, killed two people and wounded 11, according to police and medical officials.
Separate gun and bomb attacks in Salaheddin province killed two people, including a city councillor, police said. Bombings in the main northern city of Mosul, the refinery town of Baiji, and the northern towns of Daquq and Al-Dhuluiyah left 20 people wounded.
Iraq War officially ended last December when Washington withdrew its military forces. However, a number of US occupation troops still remain in the country in addition to the presence of a huge embassy with thousands of diplomats and staff.
