Around 52 people are reported dead and over 250 injured today following yesterday’s bombing campaign in several urban centres across Iraq, on the anniversary of the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.
Yesterday was the worst since Islamic State of Iraq, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, killed 70 and wounded 374 people in a similar campaign in February. The same group has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s campaign.
The bombing appears to have been designed to discredit Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and his security services. Several bombs were set off outside police stations. Eyewitnesses at the bomb sites in Karbala and Baghdad reported dual blasts, the second coming after the first had drawn a crowd of policemen. There were also gun attacks on security, with two policemen shot in Diyala.
Bomb attacks reported by several sources struck 18 other cities across the country, targeting security barracks and police stations.
The Maliki government has taken extraordinary measures to try to present Iraq as stable and secure, ahead of Iraq’s hosting of the Arab League Summit next week. Baghdad traffic is reportedly at all-time highs as the government has increased checkpoints and closed routes around the capital. The government has declared a public holiday through the Arab League summit in a bid to control events while the region’s focus is on Baghdad.
While the latest wave of attacks emphasises the risks in metropolitan areas of the country, sources on the ground have told Oil & Gas Middle East that security around the southern oil fields has been improving.
Â
