Carnage in Iraq as 63 people die in blasts targeting 17 cities

A RELENTLESS barrage of bombings killed 63 people yesterday in the most sweeping and coordinated attack Iraq has seen in over a year, striking 17 cities from northern Sunni areas to the southern Shi’ite heartland.

The surprising scope and sophistication of the bloodbath suggested that al-Qaida remains resilient despite recent signs of weakness. Such attacks, infrequent as they are deadly, will likely continue long after American forces withdraw from Iraq.

“This is our destiny,” said Eidan Mahdi, one of more than 250 Iraqis wounded yesterday. Mahdi was lying in a hospital bed in the southern city of Kut. One of his eyes was closed shut with dried blood, and burns covered his hands and head.