Iraq attacks kill 17 as Al-Qaeda posts warning
Posted on: 23 Jul 2012
Baghdad: Bombings across Iraq killed 17 people today, the country's deadliest day in nearly three weeks, as Al-Qaeda warned it would target judges and prosecutors, and look to free Muslim prisoners.
The violence, the worst of which struck just before the Iftar meal in which Muslims break the daytime fast
observed during the holy month of Ramadan, also wounded 100 people and struck towns across Iraq's north, south and west.
In the deadliest attack, two car bombs minutes apart at the main market in the town of Mahmudiyah killed at least
10 people and wounded 36, two medical officials said.
The first bomb exploded at around 7:15 pm (1615 GMT) while a second struck minutes later in the town, which lies 30
kilometres (18 miles) south of Baghdad in what was a confessionally-mixed area known as the 'Triangle of Death' for
the high levels of violence during the worst of Iraq's sectarian conflict.
In the nearby town of Madain, just southeast of Baghdad, multiple roadside bombs just before the Iftar meal
killed six people and wounded 13, an interior ministry official and a medical source said.
And in the main northern city Mosul, a car bomb near a police headquarters killed a policeman and wounded 15 other
people, police Lieutenant Mohammed Khalaf and doctor Mahmud Haddad at the city's hospital said.
Separate car bombings in the western city of Ramadi, capital of predominantly Sunni Arab Anbar province, wounded
nine people, including five policemen, security and medical officials said.
In the central Shiite shrine city of Najaf, a car bomb near a restaurant in the old town wounded 23 people, four them
seriously, according to provincial health department spokesman Salim Naama.
Najaf is the site of the mausoleum of Imam Ali, son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Mohammed and a central
figure in Shiite Islam, which draws pilgrims from around the world.
The death toll from the nationwide attacks was the highest since July 3, when 39 people were killed. (AFP)
