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Multiple bombings target Baghdad's green zone Baghdad hit by multiple bombings
(about 3 hours later)
Bombs rocked central Baghdad on Wednesday, striking mainly near the heavily fortified green zone where key government offices are located and killing at least 22 people. Multiple explosions have rocked Baghdad, killing at least 32 people and sending plumes of smoke into the sky across the street from a major government building in a reminder of the ability of insurgents to penetrate the heart of the capital.
The attacks were the latest in a relentless push by Sunni militants to undermine confidence in the Shia-led government's efforts to maintain security in Iraq, two years after the pullout of American troops from the country. The attacks come as al-Qaida-led militants battle for control of mainly Sunni areas to the west in the first test of the Shia-led government to maintain security in the country more than two years after the withdrawal of US troops.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings but such systematic and brazen attacks against government buildings, security forces and Shias in general bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq. The group has become emboldened by the successes of its fellow militants in the civil war in neighbouring Syria and by widespread Sunni anger at the government in Baghdad. The deadliest of Wednesday's attacks took place across the street from the high-rise building housing the foreign ministry, shattering the windows of nearby apartment buildings. Two parked car bombs went off simultaneously in different parking lots, killing at least 12 people, including three policemen, and wounding 22.
The deadliest of Wednesday's attacks took place across the street from the foreign ministry building, when two parked car bombs went off simultaneously in two different car parks. Those explosions killed at least 12 people, including three policemen, and wounded 22, a police officer said. Shortly afterwards, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a nearby falafel restaurant frequented by officials and visitors waiting for security escorts to take them inside the green zone, a walled-off area that houses the prime minister's office and foreign embassies.
Shortly afterwards, a suicide bomber walked into a nearby falafel restaurant where he set off an explosives-laden belt, killing five people and wounding 12, the officer added. The restaurant and others around it are often used by officials or visitors waiting for security escorts to take them inside the green zone. Five people were killed and 12 wounded in that attack.
Also on Wednesday morning, a car bomb went off in Khilani Square in the Iraqi capital's commercial centre, killing five people and wounding 11, another police officer said. Security forces sealed off the area as firefighters struggled to put out the blaze ignited by the bombing. Smoke billowed from several stores and stalls. All the roads leading to the blast sites were sealed off by police as workers cleared debris and washed away bloodstains from the sidewalks.
Iraq has seen a resurgence in violence over the past year. According to UN figures, 2013 had the highest death toll since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting began to subside in 2007. The UN said violence killed 8,868 last year. Another parked car bomb exploded in Khilani square, a busy commercial area in central Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 11. Security forces sealed off the area as firefighters struggled to put out the blaze ignited by the bombing. Smoke billowed from several stores and stalls.
Al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq has in the past staged spectacular attacks on Iraqi government buildings, such as in August 2009, when suicide bombers hit the finance and foreign ministries, killing more than 100 people. The bombings were quickly claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq, as the group was known at the time. Shortly before sunset, a triple car bombing struck an outdoor market in the mainly Shia suburb of Jisr Diyala in south-east Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding 24. Minutes later, a rocket landed near the western gate of the green zone, killing one passer-by and wounding seven others, police said.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attacks, but car bombings and suicide attacks targeting government buildings, security forces and Shias are typically carried out by al-Qaida's affiliate in Iraq. In August 2009, the group claimed responsibility for massive suicide attacks on the foreign ministry and finance ministry that killed more than 100 people.
The network now known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been emboldened by the successes of its fellow militants in the civil war next door in Syria and by widespread Sunni anger at the government in Baghdad.
Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan Ibrahim said the recent attacks in Baghdad represent "a futile reaction by the terrorist groups towards the defeats they are suffering at the hands of the security forces in the western Anbar province".
Since late December, al-Qaida-led militants have taken over parts of the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi and the centre of nearby Fallujah, prompting a standoff with government soldiers.
More than 200 militants have been killed in air strikes and clashes with soldiers since the government and allied tribes launched an offensive to wrest control of the cities in Anbar province on 26 January, according to the Iraqi defence ministry.