BAGHDAD — A series of coordinated bombings shattered Shiite neighborhoods and struck at Iraqi security forces Sunday, killing at least 26 in attacks that one official described as a rallying call by al-Qaeda days after dozens of militants escaped from prison.
The blasts brought September’s death toll from sectarian violence to nearly 200 people — a grim monthly total for the period since U.S. troops left last year. The steady pace of attacks has worked to undermine confidence in the government.
“The people are fed up with the killings in Iraqi cities,” said Ammar Abbas, 45, a Shiite and government employee who lives in a Baghdad neighborhood near one of the bombings. “The government officials should feel shame for letting their people die at the hands of terrorists.”
Police said the wave of explosions stretched from the restive, oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the north to the southern Shiite town of Kut. At least 94 people were wounded. There was no claim of responsibility, but bombings are a hallmark of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni insurgency that has been struggling for years to goad Shiite militias back toward civil war.
A key Shiite lawmaker said the bombings likely sought to galvanize al-Qaeda in the wake of a prison break Friday in Tikrit. Scores of inmates escaped, including as many as 47 convicted al-Qaeda militants. The government acknowledged the inmates had help from the inside.
“Al-Qaeda leaders have no intention of leaving this country or letting Iraqis live in peace,” said Hakim al-Zamili, a Shiite member of parliament’s security committee. “The jailbreak in Tikrit has boosted al-Qaeda’s morale in Iraq and thus we should expect more attacks in the near future.”
