String of Bombings Hits Iraq: 26 Killed

Local Editor

A series of bombings struck Baghdad and towns south of the Iraqi capital Thursday, killing at least 23 and wounding dozens.

Three people were also shot dead in northern Iraq, security and medical officials said.
The deadliest attack occurred around sunset when a pair of bombs exploded nearly simultaneously in Shuala, northwestern Baghdad. One was a car bomb that was detonated outside a fast food restaurant and the other blast occurred near a soccer field. The twin bombings killed 15 people and left at least 40 wounded, officials said.
Earlier in the day, a car bomb tore through the crowded livestock market in the town of Aziziyah, 55 km southeast of Baghdad. That attack killed three people and wounded eight.

A few hours later, a roadside bomb missed a passing police patrol in western Baghdad but killed a bystander and wounded eight others.
In the evening, explosives hidden beneath produce in the back of a pickup truck exploded in the town of Mahmoudiya, about 30 km south of Baghdad. That blast killed three policemen and wounded six.

Separately, gunmen killed a commander in the anti-Al-Qaeda Sahwa group, while a sniper shot dead an Iraqi soldier, both west of the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, security officials and a doctor said.

Police and hospital officials provided details of the attacks and the casualty figures. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Thursday's bombings marked the fourth time in February that insurgent attacks claimed more than 20 lives in a single day. More than 160 people have been killed in violent attacks in Iraq since the start of February, according to an Associated Press count.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org