Dozens Killed in Iraq Blasts

Local Editor

Iraqi officials announced that two car bombings in the southern city of Basra have killed at least 30 people and wounded 27.

A police officer stated that the two parked car bombs went off early on Monday morning near a restaurant and a bus station. A doctor in a nearby hospital confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts but such large-scale bombings bear the hallmarks of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Meanwhile, seven policemen were killed when militants attacked checkpoints and patrols near the western town of Haditha, 190 km northwest of Baghdad, police sources said.
"We were manning a checkpoint when suddenly a group of militants in many vehicles surrounded us and opened fire. Seven of my colleagues were killed instantly," said a policeman at the site.

In Rawa, northwest of Baghdad, gunmen attacked police checkpoints, the house of a member of the provincial council and a police chief's residence, killing three policemen and wounding two others, police sources said.
On Saturday, gunmen in Anbar kidnapped up to 10 policemen at a checkpoint in Ramadi.

The latest attacks follow a rise in violence in recent weeks in Iraq linked to growing political and sectarian tension in the country.

Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called for joint Sunni-Shia prayers in a bid to foil attempts to ignite sectarian tension in the Arab country.
 
Maliki called on Iraqis to hold joint prayers in one of Baghdad's mosques each Friday to reduce violence after a series of deadly terrorist attacks on Shia and Sunni places of worship across Iraq, AFP reported.

"Those who target mosques are enemies of Sunnis and Shias alike, and are planning to ignite [sectarian] strife," Maliki said in a statement.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org