Series of attacks kill nearly 70 in Iraq

[News_Editor]

Series of attacks kill nearly 70 in Iraq

2011-08-15 21:58:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BNO NEWS) -- A series of powerful explosions ripped through several locations in the Middle Eastern country of Iraq on Monday, killing nearly 70 people, officials said.

The deadliest incident occurred in Kut, located in Iraq's southern province of Wassit, some 180 kilometers (112 miles) southeast of Baghdad, when an explosion near a goldsmith shop at a market killed at least 34 people, the Director-General of the Provincial Health Department, Dia'uddin Jalil, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

In addition to the fatal victims, 64 others were injured during the explosion in Kut. Emergency teams transported the wounded to the two local hospitals in Kut, while the bodies of the deceased were taken to the Justice Medicine Center in Kut's al-Zahraa hospital.

In a separate incident, a group of gunmen - dressed in police uniforms - stormed into Tikrit's Directorate of Terrorism Headquarters, which is located in the Salahal-Din Province. One of the gunmen blew himself up at the entrance, killing at least two police officials.

The second terrorist continued the attack by opening fire against several office rooms and throwing hand grenades inside the headquarters. One of the officers who was shot by the gunman retaliated and was able to shoot and kill the gunman.

In the southwestern Iraqi city of Najaf, two explosives-filled vehicles detonated in the city's Hay al-Hussein district. Reports said at least four people were killed, while 32 others were wounded.

Other terrorist attacks on Monday included a car bomb in the Iskandariya township of west Iraq's Babel Province, which detonated on a main road and killed at least two civilians. In the al-Fisaliya district of Mosul, in Iraq's northern Ninewa Province, an explosion killed at least one civilian. Another bomb detonated near an electronics store in Mosul's Teamim District. A car bomb in the Hindiya township of south Iraq’s Karbala Province, meanwhile, killed another three people and injured at least 41, local health department officials said. A bomb explosion in the Aliilam neighborhood of southwestern Baghdad killed one and injured 7.

Security officials also said that 20 victims, including dead and wounded, resulted after a car bomb exploded in the Baani Saad district in south Baquba, Diyala Province, the National Iraqi News agency reported. Meanwhile, a roadside explosion targeted the city's Governor Abdullah al-Hayali, but no casualties were reported. In the same city, which is located about 57 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, an earlier attack against a military checkpoint in the Engineers District killed at least four army personnel.

Iraq's Interior Ministry said five booby-trapped vehicles were later dismantled in the country's Diala, Salahal-Din and Najaf Provinces. Authorities also said that the terrorists who detonated the explosions throughout the day in Kirkuk, Kut, and Tikrit had been killed.

Furthermore, Iraqi officials have issued a ban on parking vehicles near main roads or branched streets connecting to important streets in several parts of the country as of Monday.

The series of terrorist attacks on Monday were the deadliest in weeks. On Sunday, three Iraqi police officers were killed when two bomb blasts detonated neat a patrol unit in Ramadi, Anbar Province, located in the western region of the country. In addition, two others were injured while several shops were damaged.

Also on Sunday, an explosion detonated behind the Christian Catholic Sirian Church in central Kirkuk, damaging the church and nearby residences. There were no fatalities or injuries reported.

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