By IANS,
Baghdad : At least 63 people were killed and over 260 injured in a series of bomb attacks across Iraq Monday.
The attacks occurred in seven provinces of central and northern Iraq in a new escalation of violence in the country several months ahead of the proposed departure of US troops, Xinhua reported.
The deadliest attack occurred in Kut city, some 170 km southeast of capital Baghdad, when a roadside bomb was detonated at a marketplace and was followed by a car bomb explosion, killing up to 34 people and wounding 64 others, a source from the provincial operations command said.
In another deadly attack, in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, two suicide bombers entered the provincial counter-terrorism headquarters to free Al Qaeda militants detained in the headquarters’ jail.
The security forces identified the suicide bombers and traded fire with them, killing one while the other blew up his explosive vest. The attack resulted in the killing of three people.