Al-Qaeda's Deadly Attacks Across Iraq Leave at least 85 Killed and 300 Injured

Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for a wave of deadly attacks across the country that left at least 85 people dead and more than 300 injured.

Photo: Al-Qaeda's Deadly Attacks Across Iraq Leave at least 85 Killed and 300 Injured

Officials said that the more than two dozen bombings and shootings on Monday were a response to the killings and arrests of some of the group's senior figures, and were an attempt to disrupt efforts to form a new government, Aljazeera reports. 

The violence began with a series of drive-by shootings targeting police and army officers in the capital. The southern oil city of Basra was also hit with three car bombs… one in a market, the others in a residential area exploding near a petrol station.

Gunmen and bombers targeted several towns in central Iraq exploiting a rise in ethnic tensions. The attacks come as the country is in political disarray after last March’s inconclusive election, euronews says.