Iraq erupts in violence again as series of attacks leave 63 dead
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.
The worst carnage occurred near the northern industrial city of Beiji, where a bus carrying 24 people was hit by a roadside bomb, said Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari. He said all on board died.
Following the blast, a curfew was imposed in Beiji, 250 kilometres north of Baghdad.
A few hours later, a bomb-laden car blew up near a bank in the once-fashionable Karradah neighbourhood of Baghdad, killing at least 14 people and injuring 37, said police Lieutenant Colonel Abbas Mohammed Salman.
He said the target was well chosen because Iraqi security forces draw their salaries from the bank on the first of every month.
The blast set several cars on fire in the leafy Shi’ite neighbourhood.
Dismembered bodies were strewn on the footpath.
Abdul Hassan Mohammed, a 62-year-old teacher, said he was walking to the bank to draw his pension when the blast happened.
“A big explosion slammed me into a wall. My friends took me to one of their stores, gave me water and asked me to relax ... I didn’t get my pension,” he said.
Karradah has seen increasing violence in the sectarian fighting between Shi’ites and Sunnis in recent months. Last Thursday, rockets and mortars rained down in the neighbourhood, collapsing an apartment house, shattering shops and killing 31 people. A car bomb also exploded at the same time.
Such repeated violence, carnage and daily kidnappings are chipping away people’s confidence in the ability of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to impose the will of his security forces and end sectarian strife as well as general lawlessness.
