Blasts Rock Iraq, Kill 55

Only a few hours after U.S. soldiers transferred combat duties to Iraqi security forces, a series of explosions in Basra on Saturday and in Ramadi and Fallujah on Sunday lit up Iraq, killing at least 55 and wounding many others. —JCL

Reuters:

A series of car bombs killed at least 12 people and wounded scores in the Iraqi cities of Ramadi and Falluja on Sunday, while the prominent governor of troubled northern Nineveh province escaped an assassination attempt.

The blasts followed a series of explosions at a busy market in the center of Iraq’s southern oil hub Basra late on Saturday that killed at least 43 and wounded 185, officials said.

Iraq has been in political limbo since an inconclusive March 7 election while Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish political factions try to sort out a coalition government. Politicians and security officials say insurgents appear to be trying to take advantage of the power vacuum.

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AP / Alaa al-Marjani

Mourners unload the coffin of a relative at a funeral in the Shiite city of Najaf on Sunday.