Serial bomb blasts in Iraq. Reports state that the country was rocked by serial bomb blasts. As per initial estimates nearly 44 were reported killed and 200 more injured. The bomb blasts gain significance as the Arab countries are to meet for bilateral arrangements. The blasts occurred almost simultaneous in nearly a dozen Iraqi cities. As Iraq is preparing to show case to the Arab world in the Arab League summit in Baghdad, the bloody bath adds significance. A series of suicide attacks and car bombs went off since morning say sources.

Iraqi police say car and roadside bombs went off early Tuesday in a number of places, including Baghdad, Kirkuk, and the holy Shi'ite city of Karbala. It is unclear who was targeted by the bombs and no one has yet claimed responsibility. The attacks come on the heels of the ninth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the late dictator Saddam Hussein.

The New York Times is quoted as `Two explosions ripped through the capital — one of them outside the gates of the Foreign Ministry, where dozens of Iraqi diplomats and staff members are working round the clock to finalize the details of the $500 million Arab League summit, which will begin next Tuesday. The bomb — an improvised explosive tucked into a car — wounded six people and did not breach the ministry’s wide security perimeter. “We are all O.K.,” a ministry official said by telephone.’  (With inputs from internet- AarKay)