Iraq remains in political limbo almost eight months after an inconclusive vote, raising fears that insurgents might exploit tension to try and reignite sectarian war. Tuesday’s attack was the third major assault in Iraq since Friday.
“Ten cars exploded with bombs inside them. There were also four roadside bombs and two sticky bombs,” Baghdad security spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Al-Moussawi said. “(They were) all in Shiite neighborhoods.”
A police source said up to 33 people were killed and 78 wounded in the series of car and roadside bombs. An Interior Ministry source said 35 were killed and 75 wounded. Hospital sources could not confirm those numbers.
One of the biggest explosions appeared to target restaurants and cafes in the Shiite slum of Sadr City. A police source in the area said 15 people had been killed and another 23 wounded.
Gunmen seized a Catholic church in central Baghdad during Sunday mass. The siege ended in a raid by security forces that saw 52 hostages and police killed in the bloodiest attack on Iraqi Christians since the 2003 US-led invasion.
Violence has subsided significantly in Iraq since the height of sectarian bloodshed in 2006-07 but attacks by Sunni insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and Shiite militia continue daily. On Friday, 22 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked an Iraqi cafe northeast of Baghdad.
