Iraq sees bloodiest day this year as nationwide attacks kill at least 91 (2)

Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack that occurred in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, May 10, 2010. Bombers and gunmen seen as linked to a battered but still lethal al Qaeda killed at least 91 people on Monday in a day-long wave of attacks on markets, a textile factory, checkpoints and other sites across Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Meanwhile, two bombs went off at a crowded popular market close to a Shiite mosque in Wasit Province, killing at least eight and injuring more than 70.

In Anbar Province, four people died and 20 others were wounded early Monday in a series of bomb attacks, which hit houses of families who have some of their members working in the Iraqi security forces.

Two Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and four others wounded in Mosul, capital of northern Nineveh Province, when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a checkpoint in the Kokajli area.

In southern Basra, at least 19 people were killed and dozens wounded Monday afternoon in three explosions.

Seven others were killed in other minor attacks across the country.

"These attacks came in response to the killings by Iraqi forces of al-Qaida leaders -- Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri last month," said Sabah al-Shiekh, professor of politics at Baghdad University.

"The way of carrying out attacks in different parts of the country gives the impression that al-Qaida is behind them," he said.

" Al-Qaida wants to send a message that they still exist in Iraq and can carry out deadly attacks," said the analyst, stressing that Iraq's security forces should continue high vigilance against more possible attacks.

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