Iraq bombings leave dozens dead
Dozens of people are dead in Iraq after car bomb attacks on the southern cities of Kut and Najaf. It follows a string of bombings and suicide attacks across the country.
The worst attack was in the south-eastern city of Kut where two bombs killed 37 people and injured more than 68 others.
At least three more were killed and 32 more wounded when two car bombs exploded near a police building in the southern holy city of Najaf.
Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply since the height of sectarian killings in 2006-07. But Sunni Muslim insurgents and Shi’ite militants are increasingly targeting local security forces and government offices as the last American troops prepare to withdraw by the end of year.
Dozens more were killed on Monday in other bombings and attacks in other cities.
Kut had been relatively quiet since August last year when a suicide bomber killed 30 policemen and destroyed a police station as the US military ended combat operations in Iraq.
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Elsewhere in the country, at least eight people were killed and 14 wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a municipality building in Khan Bani Saad, about 20 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Two suicide bombers attacked an Iraqi counter-terrorism unit in Tikrit 95 miles north of Baghdad, killing at least two policemen and wounding six.
The Tikrit bombing attack was thought to be a failed attempt to free al-Qaeda prisoners, a police official said.
More than eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, US soldiers are scheduled to leave by the end of the year. But Iraqi and US officials are discussing whether some stay on as trainers after 2011.