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A barrage of attacks struck Monday across Iraq, killing at least 92 people and wounding more than 200, said officials, who likened the attacks to another outbreak last year.

"Once again, murderers and criminals have carried out attacks against innocent civilians to add a new page to their black criminal record," Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a written statement.

He called on security forces to "not let the killers catch their breath," and to pursue them "until they finish them."

Some of the 21 reported bombings and shootings targeted police and security forces, while others targeted civilians.

It was the worst wave of violence to strike the country in months, taking place on the halfway mark of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"Today's attacks are eerily similar to the stream of large-scale, complex attacks that occurred here last year during Ramadan on Aug. 25," said Maj. Angela Funaro, spokeswoman for United States Forces-Iraq.

Officials believe last year's attacks were carried out by al Qaeda in Iraq "to shake the public's confidence in the capabilities of the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) to defend this country," but it is too early to speculate about who may have been behind Monday's attacks, Funaro said in an e-mail.

A posting Monday on a jihadist website praised the attacks against "Shiites, Christians, and the apostate Awakening Councils." The post did not include a claim of responsibility. Awakening Councils are made up of former Sunni militants now in the pay of the Iraqi government, which have been credited with helping reduce violence. They are also frequent targets of assassination attempts.

The attacks come weeks after Iraq's political leaders agreed to request U.S. troops stay beyond a January 1, 2012, deadline to withdraw. While the United States pulled its combat troops last year, between 46,000 and 50,000 troops have remained to provide support and training. The United States is widely expected to agree to some kind of limited extension of training personnel and equipment.

Last week, Muqtada al-Sadr, the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric staunchly opposed to U.S. troop presence, warned against the prospects of a "challenge" with any U.S. forces that may stay in Iraq. His Mehdi army militia was a major factor in the sectarian violence that erupted during the height of the war. More at http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/15/iraq.violence/index.html?hpt
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