BAGHDAD, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- A series of bombings and shootings on Wednesday, mainly in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, left up to 57 people dead and 207 others wounded, in the latest wave of attacks in the months-long escalation in violence.
On Wednesday evening, three people were killed and 18 wounded when a roadside bomb went off near Al Shawwaf mosque in Yarmouk in western Baghdad, while two people were killed and 11 injured when a car bomb exploded near a cafe in Adhamiya in northern Baghdad, the police said.
Meanwhile, a former Iraqi army pilot was shot dead by unidentified gunmen when he was shopping in a market in Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad.
These attacks followed a series of coordinated attacks that struck the Iraqi capital during the morning rush hours when at least 12 car bombs went off in mostly Shiite districts in the city.
In one of the attacks, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive- laden car at a police checkpoint in Hurriyah district in the northwestern part of Baghdad, killing at least three people and wounding eight.
Meanwhile, a car bomb ripped through Sadr City neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 17, while another went off at al-Doulai district in the northwestern part of the capital, killing four and wounding 20 more.
Another car bombing in New Baghdad district in eastern the capital left five people dead and 15 others injured.
In Saidiyah district in southern Baghdad, a car bomb explosion killed two and wounded 14, whereas seven people were killed and 21 injured in another car bombing in Baghdad's southeastern district of Jesr Diyala.
In Baiyaa district in the southern part of the capital, one was killed and 12 were wounded in a car bombing, as in Shula district in northwestern the capital, another car bomb attack killed two people and wounded 11.
Two more car bombs struck a crowded intersection in Baghdad's northeastern district of Shaab, killing three and wounding 15. Moreover, another car bomb exploded at a wholesale market in Jamiela area in eastern Baghdad, killing at least one and wounding 10, and a booby-trapped car detonated in al-Amil district in southern Baghdad, killing two and wounding 12 others.
In south of Baghdad, a suicide bomber set off his explosive vest at a restaurant in the town of Mahmoudiyah, some 30 km south of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 15.
In a separate incident, gunmen broke into a house in a village near the town of Latifiyah, some 40 km south of the capital, killing seven family members.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb struck an army patrol in the town of Madain, some 30 km southeast of Baghdad, killing four soldiers and wounding three others. Moreover, two roadside bombs ripped through the town of Tarmiyah, some 40 km north of Baghdad, wounding five civilians.
In northern Iraq, gunmen broke into a house in the town of Qaiyara, some 50 km south of Mosul, and shot dead a man, a source from Mosul police told Xinhua. Separately, a bomb planted at a house went off in Mosul, killing a civilian.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the al-Qaida front in Iraq, in most cases, were responsible for such massive attacks, raising fears that the terrorist group and other militia could return to widespread violence, particularly as Iraq is trying to fend off the spillover of the escalating violence in neighboring Syria.
The attacks came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced Wednesday highest alert in the country ahead of any possible strike on neighboring Syria.
In his televised weekly statement, Maliki announced "the highest alert to avoid what could be resulted from the war (on Syria) of any internal crises on the levels of economy, (public) services."
Maliki's move came as Western powers are preparing for an option of possible military strike against Syria following a suspected chemical weapon attack on some Damascus suburbs that killed hundreds of people.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday of potential instability in Iraq due to a convergence of persistent violence at home and an ongoing conflict in neighbouring Syria.
"Iraq sits at the intersection of regional currents of increasingly turbulent, violent and unpredictable actions," Kerry told reporters at the State Department when he and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari held a bilateral meeting. Full story
BAGHDAD, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki announced Wednesday highest alert in the country ahead of any possible strike on neighboring Syria.
In his televised weekly statement, Maliki announced "the highest alert to avoid what could be resulted from the war (on Syria) of any internal crises on the levels of economy, (public) services." Full story
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