At least 78 dead and 217 wounded in a string of attacks in Iraq

At least 78 people were killed and 217 injured in a string of bombings and armed attacks in the last hours in Iraq , as reported by the police source. The deadliest incident occurred in the city of Al Emara, 370 kilometers south of Baghdad, where at least 15 people have died and 50 were injured by the explosion of two car bombs, the source said. Also in Kirkuk, at least seven people were killed and 50 others were injured by the explosion of another vehicle loaded with explosives near the university, which was followed by the detonation of another artifact. These explosions adds an armed attack early this morning that claimed the lives of 11 people, including two army officers, and wounded eight soldiers against a military checkpoint near Balad, 80 kilometers north of Baghdad. The source said the attackers used guns with silencers and put in place a number of artifacts that erupted when military reinforcements arrived to the area.

Spike of violence in Iraq

In addition, at least four civilians were killed and six others were injured by the explosion of two bombs in a row near the French consulate in Baghdad Street in the center of the city of Nasiriyah, 350 miles south of the capital. The source added that other two people were killed and seven wounded by the detonation of a car bomb parked near the Iraqi Turkmen Front in Tel Afar, 70 miles west of Mosul, in northern Iraq. A similar attack at a popular market in the Al Quiba, in the city of Basra, 560 miles south of the capital, killed three people and injured ten others. In addition to these attacks 11 other devices exploded in different parts of the country and killed five people, mostly members of the security forces, and wounded dozens in Kirkuk, Diyala (east) and Salahedin (center). Among these victims was a colonel of the Police who was killed along with one of his bodyguards by the detonation of a car bomb by his convoy, while on his way to a place where another device was disabled in the Al Ishaqui, 90 kilometers north of Baghdad. Iraq has witnessed in recent months a spike in violence with frequent attacks targeting security forces, since the withdrawal of U.S. troops last December.