At least 20 people have been killed in a wave of car bomb attacks in several cities in central and southern Iraq.\n<\/p>\n
The attacks were carried out in the cities of Kut, Aziziyah, Mahmudiyah, Nasiriyah and Basra on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n
More than 50 people were also wounded in the attacks, where terrorists used seven vehicles rigged with explosives.\n<\/p>\n
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings, but al-Qaeda-lined militant groups, who are seeking to destabilize the central government of Iraq, frequently carry out such coordinated attacks.\n<\/p>\n
There has recently been an upsurge in violence across Iraq, and the authorities say Qatar and Saudi Arabia have had a hand in some of the deadly incidents.\n<\/p>\n
The United Nations says a total of 1,045 people were killed and nearly 2,400 were injured in violent incidents in Iraq in the month of May.\n<\/p>\n
On May 30, UN Ambassador to Iraq Martin Kobler warned that \u00c5\u201csystemic violence is ready to explode at any moment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
He also urged Iraq\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s political leaders to \u00c5\u201cengage immediately to pull the country out of this mayhem.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that militant groups and the remnants of the former Ba\u00e2\u201e\u00a2athist regime are responsible for the latest wave of violence.\n<\/p>\n
DB\/HSN<\/p>\n