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Car blasts kill dozens in Anbar Province capital
Three car bombings targeted a police station and a government headquarters in the provincial capital of Ramadi in western Iraq on Sunday, killing at least 25 people and underlining the precarious situation in Anbar province.
Violence in the province had fallen sharply in the last year after local tribal leaders backed by U.S. forces defeated a homegrown al-Qaeda group and other militants. But in recent weeks, a series of explosions and suicide attacks were reminiscent of 2003 and 2004, when the insurgency was gathering strength.
Although the blasts did not appear to be set off by suicide bombers, they were timed to detonate in quick succession to kill as many rescuers and police as possible.
"The security forces are negligent," said Raad Sabah, a leader of the U.S.-backed militia that fought the insurgency in Ramadi. "They are busy with politics and the elections and their own business deals."
Rumors spread through Ramadi and other parts of the province about who was behind the attacks.