Iraq attacks politically motivated

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said the recent attacks which have left at least 72 people dead and more than 217 others injured were politically motivated. "The time and the place of such crimes underscore the political nature of the goals that they (attackers) want to achieve," Maliki said in a statement on Thursday. The statement said the perpetrators would be brought to justice, adding that “The criminals and those who stand behind them will not be able to change the course of events and the political process.” A wave of 16 bombings ripped across the capital Thursday, including a roadside bomb and then a car bomb in the latest attack in the evening, which both exploded outside a café in southwest Baghdad. The deadliest attack took place near a government building in Baghdad's Karrada district, sending up a huge smoke cloud and scattering car parts into a kindergarten. Several attacks were carried out in the Allawi, Bab al-Muatham and Karrada districts of central Baghdad, the Adhamiyah, Shuala and Shaab neighborhoods in the north, Jadriyah in the east, Ghazaliyah in the west and Amal and Dura in the south. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly incidents. The assaults came as the country is undergoing a political crisis. This week, Maliki called for the arrest of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi on charges of organizing assassinations and bombings. On Monday, the Iraqi interior ministry issued an arrest warrant for Hashemi after three of his bodyguards made confessions of taking orders from him to carry out terrorist attacks in the country over the past years. Hashemi, who belongs to the Iraqiya party, has rejected the allegation and sought refuge in the semiautonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. Iraqiya, which holds 82 of the 325 seats in the Iraqi parliament and is seen as Maliki-led Rule of Law Coalition party's major political rival, has issued a statement, saying the bloc "is suspending its participation in parliament from Saturday and calling for the opening of a round-table to find a solution that will support democracy and civil institutions." The bloc accuses Maliki of "monopolizing all decision-making." On Wednesday, Maliki warned that he would appoint new cabinet ministers if the current ministers from the Iraqiya party do not attend cabinet sessions. The Iraqi premier has also called on different political groups to help resolve the crisis in the country.