Deaths reported in serial Iraq bombings
At least 30 people killed in mostly Shia Muslim provinces, with deadliest explosion striking city of Hilla.
A string of bombings in mostly Shia-majority cities across Iraq killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens, officials said, a grim reminder of the government’s failure to stem the uptick in violence that is feeding sectarian tensions in the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attacks on Sunday, but car bombs are frequently used by al-Qaeda’s Iraq branch.
The Sunni group and other Sunni fighters often targets Shia civilians in an effort to undermine the Shia-led government.
Al-Qaeda’s extremist ideology considers Shia Muslims heretics.
The deadliest of Sunday’s attacks, which targeted mainly commercial areas and bus stations, was in the southern city of Hilla, 95 km south of Baghdad. Back-to-back car bombings hit an outdoor market there, killing eight people and wounding 22, a police officer said.
Two parked car bombs ripped through a commercial area in the city of Suwayrah, 40 km south of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 14. Two other car bombs exploded simultaneously in the city of Kut, 160 km southeast of Baghdad, killing four and wounded 16.
In nearby city of Samawah, 370 km southeast of Baghdad, four people were killed and 13 wounded when two car bombs exploded.
Two other car bombs killed three and wounded 13 in the city of Diwaniyah, 130 km south of the capital.
In the northern city of Samarra, two people were killed and 15 were wounded when a bomb targeted a gathering of mourners for some of the 17 people who were killed in a car bombing there on Saturday. Five other people were killed and 34 were wounded in other attacks in the southern city of Basra and the central towns of Mahmoudiyah and Madain.
Medical officials confirmed the causalities. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Iraq since attacks began accelerating in April following a deadly security crackdown against a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawija.