BAGHDAD – Iraqis angrily blamed the authorities for failing to prevent attacks that killed 74 people as they marked the Eid Al-Fitr holiday ending Iraq’s bloodiest Ramadan in years.



The violence, which also wounded more than 320 people, was roundly condemned by the international community.



It was the latest in months of bloodshed that have sparked worries of a revival of the all-out sectarian war that peaked in 2006 and 2007 and left tens of thousands dead.



The attacks came just weeks after assaults on prisons near Baghdad, claimed by an Al-Qaeda front group, freed hundreds of prisoners, including leading militants, prompting warnings of a surge in violence.



Authorities, though, have highlighted major security operations which they say have led to the killing or capture of numerous militants.



Iraqis voiced frustration with the government and the security forces for failing to prevent the 16 car bombings and other attacks which killed 74 people on Saturday, 47 of them in the capital.



“There will not be any improvement in the Iraqi situation,” said a man who gave his name as Abu Samer, near the site of a twin car bombing in Shaab, north Baghdad, where eight people were killed.



“I cannot trust any politicians, because they make many promises, and the result of their work is what happens in our country each day.”



The 64-year-old retired agricultural engineer said he hoped to send his children overseas, “far from what is happening in Iraq and Baghdad.”



In east Baghdad, at the site of another car bombing, Ali Al-Shammari said Iraq’s long-running political deadlock was to blame.



“The presence of one party and another opposed to it is much better than dozens of political parties, even if they say we are in a dictatorial regime, because it is much better than dozens of people being killed each day,” said Shammari, a 35-year-old cigarette seller.



“I will never vote for another person again,” the father-of-three continued. “How long should we live in this situation because of politicians?”



Security forces tightened searches at checkpoints in the capital, leading to long queues of traffic, a blunt measure often employed in the immediate aftermath of deadly attacks, albeit one that has largely failed to curb the violence. – AFP