Baghdad hit by deadly bomb attacks
A wave of attacks, mostly by car bombs, has hit mainly Shiite and commercial areas of Baghdad, killing at least 24 people and wounding 87.
The bombings are part of a surge in violence that has rocked Iraq over the past months as insurgents seek to thwart the Shiite-led government’s efforts to stabilise the country.
Five of the attacks were carried out by parked car bombs while at least one was carried out by a remotely detonated bomb, police officials said. The deadliest attack was in the central Sadria neighbourhood, where a parked car bomb went off at an outdoor market, killing five shoppers and wounding 15.
Other attacks took place in Hurriyah, Shaab, Tobchi, Karrada, Azamiyah and Amil neighbourhoods.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but suicide and large-scale bombings – especially against security forces or crowded markets - are a favourite tactic of al-Qaida’s local branch and Sunni insurgents.
The surge of attacks followed a deadly security raid on a Sunni protest camp in the country’s north in April. Since then, more than 5,500 people have been killed in attacks by insurgents in Iraq, according to the United Nations.
The latest attacks bring the death toll across the country this month to 233.
