Al-Qaida suspected in wave of fatal car bombings in Iraq today

Al-Qaida suspected in wave of fatal car bombings in Iraq today

Associated Press

BAGHDAD

Bombs striking Shiite neighborhoods, security forces and other targets across Iraq killed at least 19 people today, officials said. It was the latest string of coordinated bombings in multiple Iraqi cities, a tactic used by insurgents apparently aimed at rekindling widespread sectarian conflict and undermining public confidence in the beleaguered government.

The deadliest attack came in the town of Taji, a former al-Qaida stronghold just north of Baghdad, where three explosive-rigged cars went off within minutes of each other. Police said eight people died and 28 were injured in the back-to-back blasts that began around 7:15 a.m today.

In all, at least 68 people were wounded in the wave of attacks that stretched from the restive but oil-rich city of Kirkuk in Iraq’s north to the southern Shiite town of Kut.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence, but car bombs are a hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq.