A series of deadly bomb attacks in a number of Iraqi cities have claimed the lives of more than 40 people and injured many others.
Media reports indicated that a series of coordinated bomb blasts went off in over a dozen cities and towns, including the capital, Baghdad, as well as Karbala, Kirkuk, Falluja and Mosul, killing more than 40 people and wounding scores of others.
The deadly bombings coincides with the ninth anniversary of the US invasion and days before the nation hosts a meeting of Arab leaders.
Reports say that some of them targeted police or government facilities.
In central Falluja, a pregnant woman was killed and her child was wounded by bombs.
In Tikrit, a car bombing outside a school wounded four teachers.
Reports say the highest death tolls came from a series of car bomb attacks in Kirkuk, Baghdad and Karbala that killed 11 people in each city.
The top United Nations envoy in Iraq expressed condemnation on the deadly bombings.
“The atrocious crimes being committed against the people of Iraq are totally unacceptable and I urge all Iraqis to remain steadfast in the face of attempts to undermine a stable and peaceful Iraq.” – Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)
He urges authorities to make every effort to identify the perpetrators of the “atrocious acts of violence” and bring them to justice.
Mr. Kobler extended his condolences to the families of those who were killed and wished those who suffered injuries a speedy recovery.
The attacks on some Iraqi cities come nine years to the day since a U.S.-led army invaded Iraq on 20th of March 2003 which had ousted notorious dictator Saddam Hussein.
On December 2006, Saddam Hussein, the man who brought suffering to many Arabs, has been executed in a secret location in a northern Baghdad suburb, Khademiya.
Reports say nearly 4,500 Americans were killed before the last American troops left Iraq in December 2011.
