80 casualties in Iraq’s Samarra bombing

A terrorist bombing in Iraq’s Northern city of Samarra killed 40 and injured at least another 40 people as the Muslim nation was preparing for the major Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. The deadly bombing on Sunday targeted a busy market place in the city center, where many people were shopping food items and goods in preparation of the significant holiday, celebrated by Muslims worldwide following the conclusion of the Hajj pilgrimage rituals, currently underway in Mecca, Saudi Arabia Al-Alam correspondent reported. Local police authorities reported that most of the victims were woman shoppers. Furthermore, in other parts of Iraq, multiple terror attacks killed and wounded dozens more people throughout Sunday. A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said eight people were killed and 22 others wounded on Sunday, when coordinated car bombings struck an outdoor market in the Southern city of Hillah, situated 95 kilometers (60 miles) South of Baghdad. Five more individuals were also killed and 14 others sustained injuries when two vehicles loaded with explosives went off in a commercial area in the city of Suwayrah, located 40 kilometers (25 miles) South of Baghdad. Two other car bombs exploded simultaneously in the city of Kut, situated 160 kilometers (100 miles) Southeast of Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 16 others. Further on Sunday, four people lost their lives and 13 others were wounded when two car bombs ripped through the city of Samawah, situated 370 kilometers (230 miles) Southeast of Baghdad. Two other car bombs killed three people and wounded 13 in the city of Diwaniyah, located 130 kilometers (80 miles) South of Baghdad. Five other people were killed and 34 were wounded in separate attacks in the Southern city of Basra, located about 550 kilometers (340 miles) Southeast of Baghdad, and the central towns of Mahmoudiyah and al-Madain. No group has claimed responsibility for the terror bombings, but such terrorist actions bear the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq, which seek to destabilize the central government in the country. The shadowy terror group is widely believed to be financed by the US-backed Saudi Arabian kingdom and is notorious for targeting Muslim opponents, especially the followers of the Shiite school of thought. According to the United Nations, almost 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 wounded in violence in Iraq in September, making it one of the deadliest months in recent years. Iraq’s Interior Ministry has said that militants have launched an open war in Iraq and they want to push the Arab country into chaos.