Thursday saw the deadliest day since the withdrawal of most U.S. soldiers from Iraq’s urban areas, with 54 people being killed in attacks across the country. Some believe the increase in bombings is an attempt to delegitimize the post-U.S. Iraqi security forces. Others believe it to be just the continuation of six years of bloodshed.

The Los Angeles Times:

In the deadliest day of violence since the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq’s cities last week, at least 54 people were killed in bombings Thursday in Baghdad and other locations.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has warned that various armed groups will try to discredit Iraq’s security forces and cause instability as American troops pull back. The majority of U.S. troops left their bases in the cities June 30, in accordance with a security agreement signed by officials late last year.  

The worst attack Thursday occurred in Tall Afar in Nineveh province in the north, where a double suicide bombing killed 34 people, prompting a senior Iraqi official to express concern that the country’s security forces, now fully responsible for protecting the cities, had been penetrated by armed groups.

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