MORE THAN 30 PEOPLE have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in Iraq.

Fifteen people were killed in one attack in the city of Kut, south of Baghdad. Five explosions were roadside bombs targeting police.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet, Taliban insurgents are being blamed.

Bomb attacks

The explosions are marked on this map from Al Jazeera:



The attacks include:

• A suicide car bomb attacked a police station in Kut, killing 15 and injuring at least 84 others
• A car bomb killed one person and injured eight in Kirkuk
• Two car bombs in Ramadi injured 12 people
• A car bomb exploded in Basra, killing one and injuring eight
• A suicide car bomb in Karbala outside a police station injured 30 people

Soothing the Taliban?

The explosions could help to undermine public confidence in Iraqi security forces as the US troops withdraw from the country. Under 50,000 US troops are still in Iraq after the main troop withdrawal took place ahead of schedule.

A senior US commander said yesterday that the troop withdrawal sentence was “giving our enemy substance”, and warned of a resurgence among Taliban militants ahead of the deadline.

General James Conway says that the withdrawal date could send a signal to the Taliban that they may only have to “hold out for so long” as the US prepared to wind down the war.

Conway is the head of the US Marine Corps.