BAGHDAD — A devastating string of attacks tore through police and government buildings from Iraq's north to south Monday, killing at least 68 people and stoking fears that the country's security forces won't be able to control al Qaida-allied extremists after the scheduled U.S. military withdrawal at year’s end.
By late Monday, no group had claimed responsibility for the seemingly coordinated assaults — both suicide bombers and car bombs v that broke a month of relative calm. Iraqi authorities said the sophistication and planning of the attacks suggested they were the work of al Qaida in Iraq, the mostly homegrown Sunni Muslim extremist group that warned last week that it would undertake new operations soon.
The Iraqi government condemned the violence and imposed a curfew in hard-hit areas, but it didn’t address the question that's echoing throughout Baghdad and Washington: Can the fragile Iraqi government handle its own security? The question is paramount in the debate over whether to extend the U.S. military’s eight-year presence past the agreed-on withdrawal date of Dec. 31.
Some Iraqi politicians are advocating for a small group of American trainers to stay past the deadline to boost the Iraqi forces, which still face internal challenges from sectarianism, corruption and a lack of equipment. But both Shiite Muslim and Sunni groups have warned that such an extension could lead to an escalation of violence and even more instability. While the Iraqi government has agreed to begin negotiating with the United States on a continued troop presence, the outcome is uncertain.
“The Iraqi security forces are infiltrated, and the intelligence department can’t provide information to prevent terrorist operations,” complained Shwan Mohammed, a Kurdish lawmaker who serves on the parliament’s Security and Defense Committee.
Monday's death toll rose steadily into the night and could go higher still as medical workers tended to more than 300 wounded. The day was so bloody and chaotic, even by Iraq's grim standards, that authorities couldn’t pinpoint how many attacks had occurred; estimates ranged from nine to more than 30.
By all accounts, it was the deadliest day this year.
Explosions hit seven provinces, wreaking havoc from the mostly Shiite south to the borders of the mostly autonomous Kurdish territory in the north. The targets included police stations, a counter-terrorism office and at least one state building.
Hakim al Zamili, a lawmaker and reputed former death-squad leader allied with the militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, said investigators would question provincial police officials and military commanders.
“Those who are proved to be negligent” will be punished, said Zamili, who also sits on the Security and Defense Committee.
The deadliest blasts occurred in the city of Kut, about 100 miles south of Baghdad, where at least 37 people were killed and up to 70 wounded, according to local news media. TV footage showed dazed Iraqis pulling shredded bodies from wreckage. Police said two bombs had exploded near a busy downtown market, one right after the other.
Among the other major attacks Monday, according to local authorities:
- In the predominantly Sunni province of Diyala, northeast of the capital, 12 people died in two attacks that targeted an Iraqi checkpoint and a military camp. An estimated 20 others were wounded.
- In southern Babil province, eight people were killed and 20 others were wounded when a bomb in a parked car detonated near a police station in the town of Hindiyah.
- In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, four people were killed and 20 wounded when a bomb in a parked car detonated near the Najaf police headquarters.
- In Baghdad, three people were killed and 20 wounded in several explosions that included at least two car bombs.
- In the oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk, a disputed area claimed by Arabs and Kurds, one person died and 12 were wounded in two car bombings.
(Hammoudi is a special correspondent. Hannah Allam contributed to this article from Cairo.)
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