Iraq erupts in violence again as series of attacks leave 63 dead

BOMBINGS and shootings across Iraq killed at least 63 people yesterday, including 24 people in a bus destroyed by a roadside bomb and a British soldier in a mortar attack in the south.

Gunmen in Baghdad also kidnapped the spokesman of a political coalition including Shi’ite, Sunni, Kurdish and independent parties.

The latest attacks and the kidnapping — which occurred after 29 people were abducted in Baghdad on Monday —are likely to further damage the US-backed government’s efforts to establish control on the country wracked by insurgency and sectarian violence.