Explosions kill 58 in Iraq, French consulate hit

Sep. 9, 2012 9:33 AM ET
Wave of attacks kill at least 44 in Iraq
By YAHYA BARZANJI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

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Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012. In violence, which struck at least 10 cities across the nation Insurgents killed at least 39 people in a wave of attacks against Iraqi security forces on Sunday, gunning down soldiers at an army post and bombing police recruits waiting in line to apply for jobs, officials said. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)
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BAGHDAD (AP) — Insurgents killed at least 44 people in a wave of attacks against Iraqi security forces on Sunday, gunning down soldiers at an army post and bombing police recruits waiting in line to apply for jobs, officials said.

The violence, which struck at least 11 cities and wounded nearly 240 people, highlighted militant attempts to sow havoc in the country and undermine the government.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but security forces are a frequent target of al-Qaida's Iraq branch, which has vowed to reassert itself and take back areas it was forced from before U.S. troops withdrew from the country last year.

"What kind of life is this?" said Safeen Qadir, 26, a university student in Kirkuk. He described dead bodies and weeping, shouting relatives at bombing scenes in Kirkuk, where three midmorning explosions killed seven and wounded about 70.

"Because of the daily explosions, we must write our wills before go out of home," Qadir said. "The death exists in every inch of the city of Kirkuk, and no one is spared from the crime of terrorism."

In Sunday's deadliest attack, gunmen stormed a small Iraqi Army outpost in the town of Dujail before dawn, killing at least 10 soldiers and wounding eight more, according to police and hospital officials in the nearby city of Balad, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information to reporters.

Hours later, a car bomb struck a group of police recruits waiting in line to apply for jobs with the state-run Northern Oil Co. outside the northern city of Kirkuk. City police commander Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir, no relation to the university student, said seven recruits were killed and 17 wounded. He said all the recruits were Sunni Muslims and blamed the early morning attack on al-Qaida.

The carnage stretched into the country's south, where bombs stuck to two parked cars exploded in the Shiite-dominated city of Nasiriyah, 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad. The blasts were near the French consulate and a local hotel in the city, although the consulate did not appear to be a target of the attack.

Local deputy health director Dr. Adnan al-Musharifawi said two people were killed and three were wounded at the hotel, and one Iraqi policeman was wounded at the consulate. Al-Musharifawi said no French diplomats were among the casualties.

In Paris, France's Foreign Ministry said it "condemns with the greatest severity" the wave of attacks. In a statement, the ministry said it "especially condemned" the attack outside France's honorary consulate in Nasiriyah, which killed an Iraqi police officer and wounded a passer-by.

Al-Qaida's Iraq franchise, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq, has for years had a hot-and-cold relationship with the global terror network's leadership. The two shared the goal of targeting the U.S. military in Iraq and, to an extent, undermining the Shiite government that replaced Saddam Hussein's regime.

But al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri distanced themselves from the Iraqi militants in 2007 because their attacks also killed Iraqi civilians instead of focusing on Western targets.

A string of smaller attacks Sunday also struck nine other cities, including Baghdad.

In the capital's eastern Shiite neighborhood of Husseiniyah, roadside bombs killed a policeman and a passer-by, security and health officials said. Another eight people, including four soldiers, were wounded, the officials said.

The rest of the attacks were car bombs that hit cities stretching from the southern port city of Basra, Iraq's second largest, to the city of Tal Afar northwest of Baghdad, near the Syrian border.

The blast in Basra killed three people and wounded 24, while the bomb in Tal Afar killed two passers-by and wounded seven, officials said.

A pair of car bombs in southern Maysan province killed five people and wounded 40 outside a Shiite shrine to Imam Ail al-Sharqi, said the holy site's director, Ammar Abdullah.

A roadside bomb in Taji, just north of Baghdad, left two passers-by dead and 11 injured, and explosions in the Sunni towns of Hawija and Ar Riyad, outside the flashpoint city of Kirkuk north of Baghdad, wounded seven people.

In Tuz Khormato near the city of Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, a car bomb outside of a market killed four and wounded 41 people, said Salahuddin provincial health director Raeed Ibrahim. And in Kirkuk itself, Qadir said three midmorning explosions, two car bombs and a roadside bomb, killed seven and wounded about 70.

Kirkuk has been a flashpoint for years with its mix of Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen, who all claim rights to the city and the oil-rich land that surrounds it.

Kurdish leaders long have sought to draw Kirkuk into their self-rule region of Iraq's three northernmost provinces, and have pushed for a census to determine the city's ethnic majority. But the majority Arab central government in Baghdad has delayed the census, which could incite widespread ethnic violence over Kirkuk's future.

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Barzanji reported from Sulaimaniyah, Iraq. Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Associated Press

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2h Zuhair Hussain Zuhair Hussain ‏@zuhair47

CNN :details- Amara &Kirkuk bombings, Tikrit attacks,Western Basra explosions,Taji blasts,Nasiriya roadside bombs http://goo.gl/hr6ki #Iraq
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2h Zuhair Hussain Zuhair Hussain ‏@zuhair47

#Iraq:2)) Today's terrorist attacks casualties: ,Telaffar 2+7,Salaheldi 4+30, Kirkuk 17+76,Sammara 1+2,Baquba 3+7,Taji 1+10,Falluja 1+1
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2h Zuhair Hussain Zuhair Hussain ‏@zuhair47

#Iraq:1)) Today's terrorist attacks casualties Nassriyah 3dead+3wounded,Ammara 14+60 ,Basra3+20,Balad 11+8,Basra 3+20
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2h Zuhair Hussain Zuhair Hussain ‏@zuhair47
===============


52 قتيلا واكثر من 250 جريحا في سلسلة هجمات في العراق

بواسطة سلام فرج وعمار كريم (AFP) – منذ 3 ساعة

بغداد (ا ف ب) - اعلنت السلطات العراقية الاحد مقتل 52 شخصا على الاقل وجرح اكثر من 250 آخرين في سلسلة هجمات بينها انفجار سيارة مفخخة قرب القنصلية الفرنسية في الناصرية، جنوب البلاد.

وبهذه الهجمات التي استهدف اعنفها حاجزا للجيش، ارتفع عدد القتلى منذ مطلع ايلول/سبتمبر الى 81 شخصا.

فقد اعلنت مصادر امنية واخرى طبية ان "عبوة ناسفة داخل سيارة انفجرت قرب القنصلية الفرنسية في الناصرية" التي تبعد 305 كلم جنوب بغداد، موضحة ان الهجوم "اسفر عن مقتل شخص واصابة اخر بجروح".

ولم يكن القنصل الفخري موجودا في المكتب عند وقوع الانفجار حوالى الساعة التاسعة (6,00 تغ).

وفي وسط المدينة نفسها، قالت المصادر الامنية ان "سيارة مفخخة انفجرت قرب فندق الجنوب ما اسفر عن مقتل شخصين واصابة اثنين آخرين".

وفي العمارة (305 كلم جنوب بغداد) قال مسؤول محلي لشؤون الامن ان "سيارتين مفخختين استهدفتا مدنيين في سوق شعبي عند مرقد الامام علي الشرقي (60 كلم شمال العمارة) ما ادى الى مقتل وجرح عدد كبير من المدنيين".

واكد الطبيب علي العلاق المسؤول عن دائرة صحة محافظة ميسان، ان "مستشفى العمارة تسلمت 14 جثة وستين جريحا بينهم عدد من النساء".

وفي البصرة (550 كلم جنوب بغداد) في الجنوب ايضا، قتل ثلاثة اشخاص واصيب عشرون اخرون بجروح في انفجار سيارة مفخخة قرب سوق المسطر الشعبي وسط المدينة، وفقا لمصادر امنية وطبية.

كما اعلنت مصادر امنية عراقية ان احد عشر عسكريا عراقيا بينهم ضابطان قتلوا وجرح ثمانية اخرون ليل السبت الاحد في هذا الهجوم.

واوضح عقيد في الجيش العراقي ان "مسلحين مجهولين هاجموا باسلحة حاجز تفتيش قرب بلدة بلد (70 كلم شمال بغداد) عند الساعة 23,00 (20,00 تغ)" من السبت.

واكد ان "المسلحين قاموا بعد ذلك بزرع عبوة ناسفة فجرت لدى وصول قوة مساندة ما اسفر عن مقتل 11 عسكريا بينهم ضابط برتبة مقدم واخر رائد وجرح ثمانية اخرين".

من جهة اخرى، اعلنت الشرطة العراقية مقتل سبعة متطوعين لحماية المنشآت النفطية وجرح 17 اخرين في تفجير سيارة مفخخة استهدفت الاحد تجمعا قرب بوابة شركة نفط الشمال في كركوك الغنية بالنفط.

واوضح ضابط شرطة رفيع المستوى في الجيش العراقي طلب عدم كشف اسمه ان السيارة كانت متوقفة داخل مرآب السيارات عند الباب الخلفي لشركة نفط الشمال الواقعة على بعد 15 كليومترا شمال غرب المدينة.

واوضح ان "التفجير وقع حوالى 7,30 (4,30 تغ) لدى تجمع المتطوعين".

من جانبه، اكد الطبيب عثمان عبد الرحمن من مستشفى كركوك ان "سيارات الاسعاف نقلت سبع جثث و17 جريحا ثلاثة منهم بحالة حرجة" مشيرا الى ان "جميع الضحايا من المتطوعين".

وفي وسط مدينة كركوك (240 كلم شمال بغداد) قال مصدر رفيع في الشرطة ان "ثلاثة اشخاص قتلوا واصيب حوالى سبعين اخرين بجروح جراء انفجار سيارة مفخخة اعقبها انفجار اخر وسط المدينة ".

واكد الطبيب محمد عبد الله من مستشفى كركوك العام تلقي ثلاث جثث و سبعين جريحا اصيبوا جراء الانفجارين.

وبدت المدينة شبه خالية من اهلها الذين فروا من الشوارع بعد الانفجارين اللذين ادى الى اضرار جسيمة في عدد من المباني الحكومية بينها دائرة الاستثمار.

وانتشرت اشلاء جثث الضحايا في موقع الانفجار، وفقا لمراسل فرانس برس الذي قال ان الانفجارت ادت الى احتراق عدد كبير من السيارات على جانبي الطريق الرئيسي وسط المدينة.

وفي ناحية الرياض (30 كلم غرب كركوك) قال النقيب طه خلف من الجيش ان "انفجار سيارة مفخخة استهدف دورية للجيش عند ناحية الرياض ما ادى الى اصابة ستة جنود بجروح بليغة".

من جانب اخر، اعلنت مصادر امنية واخرى محلية مقتل اربعة اشخاص واصابة نحو اربعين اخرين في ثلاثة هجمات متفرقة في كركوك ايضا.

واوضح المقدم خالد البياتي مدير شرطة الطوز (175 كلم جنوب كركوك) مقتل ثلاثة مدنيين واصابة عشرين اخرين بانفجار عبوة ناسفة قرب استعلامات مركز الشرطة صباح اليوم".

وفي المدينة ذاتها، اغتال مسلحون النقيب جاسم البياتي في شرطة القضاء واصابوا زميله الملازم غالب البياتي بجروح بليغة".

الى ذلك اعلن قائمقام الطوز شلال عبدول "اصابة عشرة اشخاص في هجوم بسيارة مفخخة استهدف موكب لحمايته صباح اليوم".

وفي تلعفر (380 كلم شمال غرب بغداد) اعلن الملازم اول عبد غايب من الشرطة "مقتل شخصين واصابة سبعة اخرين بجروح في انفجار سيارة مفخخة مركونة في قرية حسن كوي" الواقعة في قضاء تلعفر (380 كلم شمال غرب بغداد).

ووقع الانفجار حوالى الساعة 8,30 (05,30 تغ)، وفقا للمصدر.

واكد الطبيب وعد محمد من مستشفى تلعفر تلقي جثتين ومعالجة سبعة جرحى اصيبوا في الانفجار.

وفي الحويجة (60 كلم غرب كركوك) اصيب شخصان بانفجار سيارة مفخخة عند مدخل الحي الصناعي، وفقا لمصادر امنية وطبية.

وفي سامراء (110 كلم شمال بغداد) اعلن مقدم في الشرطة ان سياسة مفخخة مركونة على الطريق الرئيسي جنوب المدينة، انفجرت "ما ادى الى مقتل ضابط شرطة برتبة عقيد وشرطي واصابة اثنين من رفاقهما بجروح".

وفي بعقوبة (60 كلم شمال شرق بغداد) قال عقيد في الشرطة ان "جنديا قتل واصيب 17 شخصا بينهم امرأة وسبعة من عناصر الامن بانفجار خمس عبوات ناسفة في مناطق متفرقة في بعقوبة وحولها".

واكد طبيب في مستشفى بعقوبة العام تلقي جثة جندي و17 جريحا اصيبوا في الانفجارات ذاتها.

وفي منطقة التاجي (25 كلم شمال بغداد) قال مصدر في وزارة الداخلية ان "شخصا قتل واصيب سبعة اخرين على الاقل بجروح في انفجار ثلاث سيارات مفخخة استهدف احدها دورية للشرطة".

واكد مصدر طبي في مستشفى الكاظمية، في شمال بغداد، تلقي جثة شخص واكثر من عشرة جرحى اصيبوا في الهجمات.

الى ذلك، قال ضابط في شرطة الفلوجة (60 كلم غرب بغداد) ان "مسلحين مجهولين اغتالوا ليل السبت الاحد، ضابطا في الشرطة برتبة نقيب في الكرمة، جنوب الفلوجة".

واكد مصدر طبي في مستشفى الفلوجة تلقي جثة النقيب.

حقوق الطبع والنشر © 2012 AFP. جميع الحقوق محفوظة. المزيد »

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52 قتيلا واكثر من 250 جريحا في سلسلة هجمات في العراق
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مجلس البصرة يعتبر تفجير اليوم "سياسيا" أكثر مما هو "إرهابيا"
المحرر: BR | SZ
الأحد 09 أيلول 2012 13:52 GMT

السومرية نيوز/ بغداد

اعتبر مجلس محافظة البصرة، الأحد، أن التفجير الذي ضرب المحافظة صباح اليوم، "سياسي" أكثر مما هو "إرهابي" بفعل محاكمة نائب رئيس الجمهورية طارق الهاشمي التي تزامنت مع التفجيرات.

وقال رئيس مجلس محافظة البصرة صباح البزوني في حديث لـ"السومرية نيوز"، إن "الخرق الأمني الذي حصل اليوم في محافظة البصرة سياسي أكثر مما هو إرهابي على اعتبار أن اليوم محاكمة نائب رئيس الجمهورية طارق الهاشمي التي ألقت بظلالها على محافظات البلاد كافة ومنها البصرة".

وأضاف البزوني أن "تفجير اليوم حصل في مسطر للعمال في منطقة القبلة وهي منطقة شعبية وكانت الأجهزة الأمنية تتخذ جميع الإجراءات الاحترازية وبسطت الأمن خلال الفترة السابقة إلا أن هناك عصابات إجرامية تريد الانتقام لمحاكمة الهاشمي وأن يصور بأنه كما تم التعامل مع قضية صدام حسين يتم التعامل مع قضية الهاشمي بان هناك انتقاما سيكون في حال محاكمته".

ولفت البزوني الى أن "طارق الهاشمي له حزب وكتلة وكان شريكا في الحكومة قبل إصدار الحكم ونحن لا نريد أن نقول أن له علاقة بهذه التفجيرات ولكن إذا ثبت ذلك فهذا من المؤسف أن يكون شركاء في الحكومة ينتقمون من الشعب بهذه الطريقة"، معربا عن أمله أن "لا تنعكس الخلافات السياسية على الوضع الأمني".

وحًمل البزوني "الاستخبارات العسكرية مسؤولية التفجيرات لأنه كان يجب أن تكون هناك استخبارات فاعلة لكي لا يتم الوقوع بمثل هذا الخطأ"، مطالبا بـ"إقالة مدير استخبارات العمليات لمحافظة البصرة".

وأشار البزوني إلى أنه "خاطب سابقا لجنة الأمن والدفاع لإقالة مدير الاستخبارات في المحافظة لأنه كان من المفترض أن يعمل بخطط صحيحة وباهتمام أكثر"، معتبرا أن "البصرة قادرة على حفظ أمنها وقواتها الأمنية وأجهزتها كافة جاهزة لذلك، فضلا عن أن القائد العام للقوات المسلحة على اتصال دائم معها".

وشهدت محافظات عراقية عدة، اليوم، تفجيرات بسيارات مفخخة وعبوات ناسفة أسفرت عن مقتل وإصابة 325 شخصا بينهم ضابطان كبيران وعناصر في القوات الأمنية، فيما شهدت البصرة وحدها مقتل جنديين ومدني وإصابة 24 آخرون بينهم بانفجار سيارة مفخخة بعبوتين ناسفتين في مسطر للعمال بمنطقة القبلة، (نحو 8 كم غرب مركز المدينة).

يذكر أن العاصمة بغداد وعدداً من المحافظات شهدت تصعيداً أمنياً منذ منتصف حزيران الماضي، أودى بحياة مئات المواطنين، وجاء هذا التصعيد بالتزامن مع الأزمة بين الكتل السياسية.

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السعد تستنكر تفجير البصرة وتجدد مطالبتها بتفعيل الجانب الاستخباراتي
الأحد, 09 أيلول/سبتمبر 2012 15:25

b_283_189_16777215_0___images_idoblog_upload_1854_suzan-alsaad_6.jpg

[بغداد – أين]

جددت النائبة عن التحالف الوطني سوزان السعد مطالبتها بتفعيل الجانب الاستخباراتي والخطط الاستباقية،مشيرة الى أن"الارهاب يحاول ان يستقوي على بعض المناطق التي تفقتقر الى وجود خطط استتخباراتية محكمة".

واستنكرت في بيان اصدرته اليوم تلقت وكالة كل العراق [أين] نسخة منه التفجيرات التي وقعت صباح اليوم في منطقة القبلة في محافظة البصرة مشددة على"ضرورة محاسبة المقصرين فورا".

وقالت السعد النائبة عن محافظة البصرة ان "الارهاب يحاول ان يعث فسادا بجميع المحافظات العراقية ، بغية ايصال صورة على هشاشة الوضع الامني وانه يزال موجودا ويستطيع ان يهدد امن جميع المناطق العراقية ، خاصة وانه يستغل الاماكن المزدحمة غير المنظمة".

واضافت أن"من غير الممكن ان تقف القوات الامنية ساكنة امام هذه التفجيرات ، سيما ان المواطن لا يأمن على حياته وهو جالس في داره فما بالك اذا ما اقتضت الضرورة لذهابه الى مكان معين".

وتابعت السعد " طالبنا ونطالب بتقعيل الجانب الاستخباراتي والخطط الاستباقية ، لان الارهاب يحاول ان يستقوي على بعض المناطق التي تفقتقر الى وجود خطط استتخباراتية محكمة ، فضلا عن عدم زرع عناصر استخباراتية في كل منطقة في البلاد ما يؤدي الى ضعف القدرة في الكشف عن اماكن ومخططات الخلايا الارهابية ".

وطالبت "بتعويض ضحايا تفجيرات القبلة وعلاج الحالات الحرجة في الخارج خاصة وان الذين سقطوا في الحادث هم من الفقراء الذين لا يقون على تحمل نفقات العلاج المكلفة ".

يذكر ان انتحاريا يرتدي حزاما ناسفا فجر نفسه في وقت سابق اليوم مستهدفا سوق المسطر في حي القبلة بمحافظة البصرة مسفرا عن مقتل و اصابة 24 مدنيا وسط تفجيرات عدة استهدفت عددا من المحافظات راح ضحيتها العشرات من القتلى والجرحى .انتهى
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Sun, Sep 09 07:52 AM EDT
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By Suadad al-Salhy and Raheem Salman

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 58 people were killed in attacks across Iraq on Sunday, including a car bomb outside a French consulate.

Iraq's conflict has eased since its height in 2006-2007 when sectarian slaughter killed thousands. But Sunni Islamists and an al Qaeda affiliate still launch about one major attack a month in an effort to reignite tensions between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims following the U.S. military withdrawal in December.

The most serious of the bombings, blasts and shootings on Sunday happened near the city of Amara, 300 km (185 miles) south of Baghdad, when two car bombs exploded outside a Shi'ite shrine and a market place, killing at least 16 people, officials said.

"So far 16 corpses were brought to the hospital, and more than 100 people were wounded," said Sayid Hasanain, a local health official.

With its main hospital overflowing with injured from the attacks, mosques in Amara used prayer loudspeakers to call for blood donations.

Overnight in Dujail, 50 km (30 miles) north of Baghdad, gunmen and a suicide bomber driving a car attacked a military base, killing 11 soldiers and injuring seven, police said.

Later on Sunday, a car bomb killed eight people queuing for jobs as police guards for the Iraqi North Oil Company in the flashpoint city of Kirkuk, 250 km north of Baghdad, police said.

Kirkuk was hit by several other blasts. A car bomb and a bomb packed into a motorcycle detonated outside a crime investigation office, killing seven and wounding 40.

More people were killed in several other blasts across the country, including in the towns of Baquba, Samarra, Basra and Tuz Khurmato.

FRENCH TARGET

The car bomb that exploded outside the French consular building in the usually stable city of Nassiriya, 300 km south of Baghdad, killed a police guard and wounded four other guards, authorities said. The consul, an Iraqi citizen, was not at the office at the time of the attack.

Two other people were killed and three wounded by a separate car bomb in the city.

French diplomats have been hit before by violence in Iraq.

In June last year, a French embassy convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad that wounded seven local Iraqi guards, one month after another embassy convoy was hit by an explosive device.

Since the last U.S. troops left, insurgents have often hit high-profile targets, including Shi'ite religious sites or local military or government offices, to show they can still carry out coordinated attacks and undermine the government's claim to provide security.

Iraq's local al Qaeda wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has claimed responsibility for other major attacks on security forces and Shi'ite neighborhoods. But former members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baathist party and other Sunni Islamist groups are also fighting the government.

Infighting in Iraq's delicate cross-sectarian government, and a resurgence of the al Qaeda wing, have raised fears of a return to widespread violence, especially as Iraq struggles to contain spillover from the growing conflict in Syria.

(Reporting by Mustafa Mahmoud in Kirkuk, Ghazwan Hassan in Tikrit, Aref Mohammed in Basra and Suadad al-Salhy and Raheem Salman in Baghdad; Writing by Barry Malone and Patrick Markey; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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Wave of blasts kill 24 in Iraq, French consulate hit
Sun, Sep 09 03:14 AM EDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 24 people were killed in 10 blasts across Iraq on Sunday, including a car bomb outside a French consular building.

Sunni insurgents and al Qaeda have launched a series of major attacks this year in an attempt to stoke the kind of political and sectarian tensions that drove the country to near civil war in 2006-2007.

The most serious attack happened overnight in Dujail, 50 km (30 miles) north of Baghdad, when gunmen and a suicide bomber driving a car attacked a military base, killing 11 soldiers and injuring seven, police sources said.

One car bomb exploded outside the French consular building in the usually stable city of Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) south of Baghdad, wounding two people, police said. Another car bomb also detonated in the city, killing two and wounding three.

More people were killed in several other blasts across the country in the towns of Kirkuk, Samarra, Basra and Tuz Khurmato.

The government, riven by infighting among Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish political factions, is still struggling to battle Islamist militants and an al Qaeda affiliate nine months after the last U.S. troops left.

Iraq's local al Qaeda wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has claimed responsibility for other major attacks on security forces and Shi'ite neighbourhoods. But former members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baathist party and other Sunni Islamist groups are also fighting the government.

Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks.

Tension in Iraq's delicate power-sharing government, and a resurgence of the al Qaeda group, have raised fears of a return to widespread violence, especially as Iraq struggles to contain spillover from the growing conflict in neighbouring Syria.

(Reporting by Mustafa Mohammed in Kirkuk, Geswan Hassan in Tikrit and Suadad al-Salhy in Baghdad; Writing by Barry Malone; Editing by Patrick Markey and Alison Williams)

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Iraq blasts target Shi'ite mosques, kill eight

Fri, 7 Sep 2012 13:44 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

KIRKUK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Six blasts targeting Shi'ite mosques in the disputed Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least eight people and wounded 67 during prayers on Friday, police and hospital sources said.

The attacks were the latest in a wave of attacks apparently launched to stoke sectarian tensions and challenge the country's Shi'ite Muslim Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The government is still struggling to overcome a stubborn insurgency eight months after U.S. troops left.

Two roadside bombs exploded outside the Imam Ali Husseiniya in the city, while one roadside bomb and one car bomb each detonated outside both the Khazaal Al-Timimi Husseiniya and the Al-Mustafa Husseiniya. A 'Husseiniya' is a Shi'ite mosque.

Buildings and cars near the blasts were damaged and corpses lay in the streets, a Reuters witness said.

"I want to ask the government, the politicians, the armed groups and everyone: what are we guilty of that we are targeted?" Abu Amina, a 34-year-old local man with his head and arm bandaged, said. "We are not police officers, not politicians. We are worshippers, simple people."

Iraq's local al Qaeda wing has claimed responsibility for other attacks on Shi'ite neighbourhoods and security forces. They are seen as a revival of the group's campaign to provoke the Sunni-versus-Shi'ite sectarian violence that drove the country close to civil war four years ago.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks.

Attacks on Sunni and Shi'ite mosques are especially sensitive in Iraq where a power-sharing government of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds is riddled with infighting. (Reporting by Mustafa Kareem in Kirkuk and Raheem Salman in Baghdad; Writing by Barry Malone)

=== Suicide car bomber kills seven near Baghdad's Green Zone Mon, Sep 17 05:24 AM EDT By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed seven Iraqis and wounded 11 others, including a member of parliament, close to an entrance to Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on Monday, where several Western embassies are located, police sources said. The central area, known officially as the International Zone, houses diplomatic missions including the U.S. embassy and the blast was close to the July 14th suspension bridge which leads into the zone. "I was on my way to enter the Green Zone when the blast happened. I was wounded in my shoulder and I'm in hospital now," Habib al-Turfi, a Shi'ite member of parliament, told Reuters. Two of the seven killed were soldiers, the sources said. "Cars were lining up waiting to be searched at the checkpoint that leads to the Green Zone and suddenly a speeding car exploded nearby," said one police source whose patrol was stationed near the scene of the attack. "Some people died inside cars and I saw two soldiers lying on the ground. We immediately closed the area," said the source, who declined to be named. The last attacks in the capital occurred on September 9, when a series of bombs in mainly Shi'ite Baghdad districts ended one of the bloodiest days of the year with more than 100 killed across the country. "It's a suicide attack with clear fingerprints of al Qaeda terrorist groups," a security official said on condition of anonymity. In August about 164 Iraqis were killed, government figures showed, as security forces wrestle with insurgent groups and sectarian violence which has plagued Iraq for almost a decade. Infighting in Iraq's delicately balanced cross-sectarian government, and an al Qaeda resurgence, have intensified fears of a return to widespread violence, especially as Iraq struggles to contain spillover from the growing conflict in Syria. Iraq's fugitive vice president Tareq al-Hashemi, sentenced to death this month by an Iraqi court, told Reuters that Shi'ite Iran is using Iraqi airspace to fly arms to Syria. Many Sunnis in Iraq are disgruntled with what they see as Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's determination to minimize their share in power. Heightened political tension is often accompanied by a surge in violence as Sunni Islamist insurgents try to capitalize on instability to strike at the government, local security forces and Shi'ite religious targets. Violence in Iraq has eased since the dark days of sectarian slaughter that erupted a few years after the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam. But insurgents are still carrying out at least one major coordinated attack a month. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Raheem Salman; Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Louise Ireland) ============ Deaths in Baghdad suicide attack Car bombing leaves at seven dead in morning rush hour near Iraqi capital's diplomatic area, police officers say. Last Modified: 17 Sep 2012 09:05 inShare.1 Email Print Share Feedback The bomb went off near the Green Zone where many embassies and government offices are located [Al Jazeera] A suicide car bomber has killed seven people and wounded an MP in an attack close to an entrance to Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone, officials say. The blast on Monday took place in the morning rush near Baghdad's July 14th suspension bridge which leads into the area, which houses many government offices and diplomatic missions including the US embassy. The blast killed seven people and wounded at least 24, according to an interior ministry official and a medical source. MP Habib Hamza al-Turfi was among those wounded, another deputy, Ammar Toma, told AFP. The last attacks in the Iraqi capital occurred on September 9 when a series of bombs in mainly Shia Muslim districts ended one of the bloodiest days of the year, on which more than 100 killed across the country. "It's a suicide attack with clear fingerprints of al Qaeda terrorist groups," a security official said on condition of anonymity. In August about 164 Iraqis were killed, according to government figures, as security forces wrestle with insurgent groups and sectarian violence which has plagued Iraq for almost a decade. ==================