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Iraq car bombings kill dozens Iraq car bombings leaves scores of civilians dead
(about 3 hours later)
At least 34 people have been killed in a wave of car bombings across Baghdad's Shia neighbourhoods and in the southern city of Basra, Iraqi officials said. A string of car bombs and shootings tore through Shia and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and escalating fears of a return to widespread sectarian bloodletting, officials said
The attacks are the latest in a recent spike of bombings that has hit both Sunni and Shia civilian targets over the past week. The bloodshed has raised fears of a return to the widespread sectarian violence of 2006-07 that brought the country to the edge of civil war. The attacks, some of which targeted market places and crowded bus stops during the rush hour, are the latest in a recent spike in violence in Iraq that has targeted both Sunni and Shiae civilians and pushed the death toll over the past week to more than 200 people. The scenes are reminiscent of the retaliatory attacks between the two groups that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006-2007.
In the Iraqi capital, nine car bombs went off, striking at bus stops, market places and in the streets of Shia areas during the busy morning hours, killing 24 people and wounding 112, according to police officials. Tensions have been worsening since Iraq's minority Sunnis began protesting against what they claim is mistreatment at the hands of the Shia-led government. The mass demonstrations, which began in December, have largely been peaceful, but the number of attacks rose sharply after a security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on 23 April.
In the southern city of Basra, two car bombs – one near a restaurant and the other at a bus stop – killed at least 10 people and wounded 27, according to police officials. Iraq's Shia majority, which was oppressed under Saddam Hussein, now controls the levers of power. Wishing to rebuild the nation rather than revert to open warfare, they have largely restrained their militias over the past five years or so as Sunni extremist groups such as al-Qaida have targeted them with occasional large-scale attacks.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts but such large-scale bombings bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq. But renewed violence in both Shia and Sunni areas since late last month has fueled fears of a return to open sectarian warfare.
Hospital officials in Baghdad and Basra confirmed the casualties. The worst of Monday's violence took place in Baghdad, where nine car bombs ripped through open-air markets and other parts of Shia neighborhoods, killing at least 33 people and wounding nearly 130, police officials said.
Tensions have been intensifying in Iraq since Sunnis began protesting against what they say is mistreatment at the hands of the Shia-led government. The surge in bloodshed has exasperated Iraqis, who have lived for years with the fear and uncertainty bred of random violence.
The protests, which began in December, have largely been peaceful, but the number of attacks rose sharply after a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in the country's north on 23 April. "How long do we have to continue living like this, with all the lies from the government?" asked 23-year-old Baghdad resident Malik Ibrahim. "Whenever they say they have reached a solution, the bombings come back stronger than before. We're fed up with them and we can't tolerate this anymore," he added.
Majority Shias control the levers of power in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. Wishing to rebuild the nation rather than revert to open warfare, they have largely restrained their militias over the past five years or so as Sunni extremist groups such as al-Qaida have targeted them with occasional large-scale attacks. The predominantly Shia city of Basra in southern Iraq was also targeted , with two car bombs – one outside a restaurant and another at the city's main bus station, killing at least 13 and wounding a further 40, according to provincial police spokesman Colonel Abdul-Karim al-Zaidi and the head of city's health directorate, Riadh Abdul-Amir.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but such large-scale bombings bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The violence also struck Sunni areas, hitting the city of Samarra north of Baghdad and the western province of Anbar, a Sunni stronghold.
A parked car bomb in Samarra went off near a gathering of pro-government Sunni militia waiting outside a military base to receive salaries, killing three and wounding 13, while in Anbar gunmen ambushed two police patrols near the town of Haditha, killing eight policemen, police and army officials said.
Also in Anbar, authorities found 13 dead bodies in a remote desert area, officials said. The bodies, which included eight policemen who were kidnapped by gunmen on Friday, had been killed with a gunshot to the head.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
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