Dozens Killed in Bombings in Four Iraqi Cities

At least 40 people died in the Baquba suicide car bomb attack, according to the chief of security operations for the city, but the police and emergency workers removing the bodies said they counted 53.

A suicide bomber also struck in Ramadi in Anbar Province, killing 13 people. In Baghdad, one civilian was killed in a bombing that was aimed at a police major and his bodyguards. In Mosul, a car bomb exploded in a neighborhood close to the university, previously a peaceful area despite the turbulence that has rocked much of the rest of the city.

Although there were no deaths in the Mosul attack, it appeared to have been well planned. An initial bomb was aimed at an American military convoy and a second exploded a few minutes later when Iraqi police officers arrived at the scene. Four police officers were wounded, as well as eight Iraqi civilians.

It was not immediately clear whether the attacks, particularly the two largest bombings in Baquba and Ramadi, were intended to be synchronized. The two cities are not close by, but in the past Sunni extremists have carried out coordinated bombings.