70 killed as car bombs target Baghdad shops and markets

 

Terror: a car bomb attack in the Saadon district in Baghdad. A wave of bombings left at least 66 dead and hundreds wounded

 

Bo Wilson

A wave of bombings in shopping districts and markets left more than 70 dead and hundreds wounded in mainly Shia districts of Baghdad.

Up to eight cars packed with explosives blew up in the co-ordinated attack yesterday. Security has been rapidly deteriorating in Iraq this month. More than 450 people have been killed in sectarian violence exacerbated by anti-government protests and the war in neighbouring Syria.

Two attacks today, a bomb left on a Baghdad minibus and a suicide truck bomb at a police checkpoint north of the capital, killed seven more people.

The deadliest attack in the first series of bombings happened when two bombs exploded in the eastern Habibiya area on the edge of the sprawling Shia district of Sadr City, killing 12 and wounding 35.

Twin blasts killed six at an open-air market in al-Maalif. Another car bomb exploded in the busy commercial district of Sadoun Street.

That explosion killed five civilians and wounded 14. Among the wounded were four policemen who were at a nearby checkpoint.

The central street is one of the capital’s main commercial areas and is lined with clinics, chemists’ stores and other shops.

A bomb went off in the eastern New Baghdad area as officers were waiting for explosives experts to dismantle it. A civilian was killed and nine others wounded. In the north, a blast in the Sabi al-Boor area killed eight civilians and wounded 26.

In the Kazimiyah district, a car bomb blew up near a bus and taxi stop, killing four and wounding 11. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but they bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda’s Iraqi arm.

The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently co-ordinate bomb blasts in an effort to undermine Iraqis’ confidence in the Shia-led government.

The surge in attacks is reminiscent of the sectarian carnage that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007. April was Iraq’s deadliest month since June 2008, according to UN figures that put last month’s death toll at more than 700.

The bloodshed was the worst since last Monday, when a wave of attacks killed 113 people in Shia and Sunni areas.

The recent wave of bombings has raised tensions between the Sunni minority and Shias. Since late December, members of the Sunni community have been protesting against the government.

They cite a range of grievances, including poor services, discrimination and the application of tough anti-terrorism policies they believe unfairly target their sect.

© 2012 Evening Standard Limited

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