More than 80 people killed in Iraq on Thursday, over 270 wounded, Obama gloats

More than 80 people were killed in Iraq Thursday in a spate of shootings and bombings that Iraqi officials said bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda, CNN reported. More than 270 people were wounded in the attacks.

An Iraqi military post, a police checkpoint and a police station were also targeted in the attacks leaving 10 Iraqi soldiers and 6 police officers dead.

Iraqi authorities blamed al Qaeda for the attacks.

So far, this month, 198 people have been killed in attacks across the country, according to the AFP. 325 Iraqis were killed in similar attacks in July, according to CNN.

Last month, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq warned that the militant network had embarked on a new offensive and was returning to strongholds from which it was driven from while the American military was there. He also threatened the U.S.: "You will see them [al Qaeda terrorists] at the heart of your country, since our war against you has just started," he said.

Last year, President Obama adamantly opposed a plan to leave behind a residual U.S. force in Iraq after the U.S. troop withdrawal ended in December. However, many Iraqi's have expressed fears that without a residual U.S. military presense in Iraq, the security gains made in recent years could fall by the wayside.

"The country [Iraq] is still in need [of U.S.] intelligence and military capabilities," Mohammed Salam, a Sunni government employee in Baghdad, said last month [AP]. "The Iraqi government should have kept some several thousands of U.S. troops in order to help Iraq forces maintain a reasonable level of security."

Nevertheless, despite the resurgence of Al Qaeda and the recent surge of violence across the country, President Obama has been gloating on the campaign stump about his disastrous Iraq policy.

Par for the course........