This news from Iraq. A series of attacks today across the country have left scores of people dead and dozens wounded. A suicide bomber blew up his car outside the house of an Iraqi army officer in Balad, north of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people. Several nearby houses were also damaged by the blast. Balad is on the road between Baghdad and the resistance stronghold of Samarra. Guerrillas have mounted frequent attacks in the area. There were more deaths in Baquba, where resistance fighters launched a series of apparently coordinated attacks that killed seven soldiers and five police officers. The attacks included a car bomb, three roadside bombs and small arms attacks. Monday’s violence came a day after politicians set March 16 for the opening of the country’s parliament as a deal hardened Sunday to name Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani to the presidency. The day marks the anniversary of the 1988 chemical attack on the northern Kurdish town of Halabja, which reportedly killed 5,000 people.