Serial blasts in 8 Iraqi cities kill 46-ToI-21.3.12

Bombings Precede Arab Summit Meant To Showcase Country’s Stability

Baghdad: Bombings across eight cities in Iraq killed 46 people on Tuesday striking at police and Shia pilgrims in a torrent of violence that officials had dreaded in the runup to a Baghdad meeting of the Arab world’s top leaders, which the government hoped would showcase the nation’s stability. 
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, which also wounded nearly 200 people. But authorities have feared al-Qaida or its Sunni sympathizers would try to thwart next week’s annual Arab League summit. 
    The gathering is to be held in Iraq for the first time in a generation. Plans for Baghdad to host the meeting last year were postponed, in part because of concerns about Iraq’s security. 
    One of the deadliest strikes on Tuesday hit the Shia holy city of Karbala,where officials said two car bombs exploded in a crowded shopping and restaurant area. Thirteen people were killed and another 50 were wounded in that attack, said local provincial council member Hussein Shadhan al-Aboudi. “The intention of these attacks is to destabilize the security situation in Karbala and other Iraqi cities and to shake the people’s confidence on the government,” al-Aboudi said. 
    “It seems that the terrorists want to abort the upcoming Arab Summit in Baghdad. The message is directed to the Arab leaders that Iraq is not safe enough to be visited.” 
    Karbala, 80 kilometers south of Baghdad, is a destination for thousands of Shia pilgrims from around the world who visit the golden shrines of two revered imams each day. Five Iranian pilgrims were among the dead. 
    The wave of violence began after dawn. Militants blew up the house of a police official in the western city of Fallujah, planted bombs near the fortified Green Zone and shot up a security checkpoint in Baghdad, set off an explosion at a police station in the northern city of Kirkuk and attacked restaurants and shopping areas in two southern towns. In all, eight cities were hit in attacks that mostly appeared to target police and government officials. 
    Police and health officials who confirmed the casualties spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media.