Attacks in Iraq grow bolder ahead of US withdrawal

Today, an attack in eastern Iraq has killed eight members of the Sunni Awakening Council militia. According to Al Jazeera, Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki blamed the attack on a group linked to Al-Qaeda.

This follows a series of bombings in 13 different cities on Wednesday that killed at least fifty. The deadliest was in the southern city of Kut that, according to the BBC, killed 19 people. In Baghdad, a car bomb targeting a police compound killed 15.

The attacks come as the US is drawing down its combat operations in the country ahead of President Obama's deadline at the end of this month.

To get more we called Bashar Mendalawi, he's the project Manager for the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory in Iraq. He joined us by phone from Baghdad. He began by describing the events this week as a shift in strategy for the attackers.