Six blasts across Baghdad kill at least 16

Six blasts across Baghdad kill at least 11

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:19 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

(Adds details on other blasts)

BAGHDAD, May 31 (Reuters) - Six explosions hit Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens more, the most deadly attacks on the Iraqi capital in more than a month.

The blasts, including a truck bomb that exploded in a busy market area, broke weeks a relative quiet in Baghdad just as the country's fragile government shared among Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs wrangles to end a political crisis that has threatened to reignite sectarian tensions.

In the largest blast, a bomber detonated a vegetable delivery truck packed with explosives near a restaurant in a market, killing at least nine people and wounding 27 more in the mainly Shi'ite Shula district in northeastern Baghdad.

"The pickup truck came into the market and the driver left it saying he was going to get people to unload the vegetables," said Haider Fadhil, one of the wounded. "It was a huge explosion, I was knocked out and woke up in a car on my way to hospital."

A car bomb exploded near the vehicle of one of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's advisers, killing one civilian and wounding three people in western Baghdad, police and hospital officials said. It was not clear whether the adviser was targeted.

Two roadside bombs exploded in Amiriya district, killing one person and wounding four more while roadside bombs injured 14 more people in three other mixed neighbourhoods in western and southern parts of the capital.

In the last major attacks, 20 bombs hit cities and towns across Iraq in mid-April, killing 36 people, and raising fears of renewed sectarian strife. At least 15 people were killed in Baghdad by six bombs that hit mainly Shi'ite areas.

Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply since the height of the sectarian slaughter triggered a few years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. Suicide bombings and blasts claimed hundreds of lives daily in 2006-2007.

Since the last U.S. troops left Iraq in December, Sunni Islamists have often targeted local security forces and government buildings, but have also sought out Shi'ite victims in an attempt to stir sectarian tensions. (Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Louise Ireland) === Suicide bomber kills 15 at Iraq Shi'ite funeral Mon, Jun 18 17:34 PM EDT By Aseel Kami BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people mourning at a Shi'ite funeral in the northern Iraqi city of Baquba on Monday in the latest sectarian attack this month. A wave of bombings on Shi'ite pilgrims and religious sites has killed more than 130 people in June, reviving fears of a return to widespread sectarian violence, in some of the bloodiest attacks since U.S. troops left Iraq in December. The bomber on Monday blew himself up inside funeral tents where mourners in Baquba were paying respects to the family of an influential Shi'ite tribal sheikh, witnesses and hospital officials said. "The bomber came in through a side entrance in one tent. When he blew himself up, all I could see was dust and people being thrown back by the pressure of the blast," said senior policeman Abbas Ali, who was off duty and among the mourners. "It was chaos, we are still helping people out," he said by telephone from the blast site. Violence has fallen since the height of the war, but recent bombings on Shi'ites are fuelling worries Iraq risks slipping back into major bloodshed, especially as the government's Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish parties feud over sharing power. Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, is in Diyala province, once an al Qaeda stronghold and one of the most volatile regions in Iraq with its mix of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish communities who dispute control of the area. Iraq's al-Qaeda wing, the Islamic State of Iraq, has claimed recent attacks on Shi'ite targets, as it tries to fuel sectarian tensions and undermine Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. Though weakened after years of war with Iraqi and American troops, the country's al Qaeda affiliate and allied Sunni Islamists are still potent. At least one major attack has occurred each month in the six months since U.S. forces left. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside a Shi'ite religious office in Baghdad at the start of June, killing more than 20 people, and more than 75 were killed in bombings and attacks mainly targeting Shi'ite pilgrims last week. The latest attacks come as Maliki fends of attempts by Sunni, Kurd and some Shi'ite rivals to organize a vote of no confidence against him. His opponents accuse the Shi'ite leader of trying to consolidate his power at their expense. (Reporting by Baghdad newsroom and Reuters reporter in Baquba; writing by Patrick Markey, editing by Myra MacDonald) === Bombing kills 22 in Iraq Iraqis inspect the damage at the site of a bombing in central Baghdad on February 23, 2012. (file photo) Iraqis inspect the damage at the site of a bombing in central Baghdad on February 23, 2012. (file photo) Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:4AM GMT 0 Share | Email | Print At least 22 people have been killed and 50 others wounded in a bomb attack that targeted a funeral gathering in northern Iraq. The bomb exploded in a tent filled with about 150 mourners who had gathered for the funeral procession of a leader of the Zubaidi Shia tribe in the northern city of Baqouba on Monday, AFP reported. An army first lieutenant, four police officers, and seven security forces were among the dead. Earlier in the day, the convoy of Sami al-Massudi, the deputy director of the Shia Wafq (Shia Endowment) of Iraq was targeted by a roadside bomb in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The deputy director of the Shia Wafq, which is a government-run body that oversees Shia religious sites in Iraq, said the blast injured three of his bodyguards. “Absolutely this is the way of al-Qaeda --targeting innocent people to ignite sectarian unrest,” said Sadiq al-Husseini, who is the chairman of the Diyala provincial council. The incidents are the latest in a string of attacks against Shia Muslims that left over 100 people dead across the country last week. On June 16, two car bombings killed about 32 people on the day of the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of the seventh Shia Imam, Imam Musa Kazim (PBUH). And on June 13, a series of attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists killed over 70 people. Violence has risen in Iraq since December 2011, when an arrest warrant was issued for fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who has been charged with running a death squad targeting Iraqi officials and Shia Muslims. JMA/AS/HGL == Iraq bomb attacks kill 21, wound scores ReutersBy Kareem Raheem | Reuters – 6 hrs ago * Residents inspect the site of a bomb attack in the town of Taji, about 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, June 28, 2012. A separate car bomb attack in Taji, a town 20 km (12 miles) north of the capital, killed four and wounded 20 in the early hours of the morning, police said. REUTERS/Stringer Residents inspect the site of a … BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombings in and around Baghdad killed at least 21 people and wounded over 100 on Thursday, health and security sources said, the latest attacks in a bloody month that have stoked fears Iraq could return to broad sectarian fighting. Tensions have been high in the country since the last U.S. troops left in December, with ongoing political crises between Iraq's main Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions further aggravating concerns. In the deadliest incident, at least eight people were killed and 30 wounded when a bomb in a parked taxi exploded at the entrance of a Baghdad market in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim district of Washash, police said. "There were bodies scattered everywhere. Glass and vegetables covered the whole place," said police officer Ahmed Nouri, who was on patrol nearby when the bomb detonated. "I feel like my clothes are completely covered in blood and the smell of it is in my nose," he said. Most of the victims were vendors setting up their produce in the early hours before shoppers arrived, he said. "In some places you cannot tell the blood from the (pulverized) vegetables," Nouri said. Violence in Iraq has fallen since the peak of sectarian fighting in 2006-07 following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion but insurgents remain capable of lethal attacks. Almost 200 people have been killed so far in June across the country in a rise in attacks targeting mainly Shi'ite pilgrims and shrines. The worst incident occurred on June 13 when bombers targeted Shi'ite pilgrims, killing more than 70 people in one of the bloodiest days since U.S. forces withdrew. POLITICAL TENSIONS Opponents of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki accuse him of trying to consolidate power at their expense. The Shi'ite leader is fending off attempts by Sunni, Kurdish and some Shi'ite rivals to organize a vote of no confidence against him. Maliki said on Wednesday he will call for early elections if other political parties refuse to negotiate to break a deadlock over power-sharing that threatens to stoke sectarian tensions even more. In the central Iraqi city of Baqubua, at least six people were killed and 51 others wounded late on Thursday when a bomb concealed in a parked car exploded near shops and cafes in a mainly Shi'ite area, security and health sources said. "The rescue teams are still trying to retrieve corpses from underneath the debris," a source in Diyala health directorate said. Baquba is the capital of Diyala province, a fertile agricultural area which has long been one of the most volatile regions, inhabited by a mix of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds. A separate car bomb attack in Taji, a town 20 km (12 miles) north of the capital, killed four and wounded 20 early on Thursday, police said. The bomb in the mainly Sunni town was targeting a government building, which was severely damaged. Another roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed one and wounded five in Abu Dsheer, a Shi'ite area in southern Baghdad, police said. Bombers also struck Falluja in the Sunni Muslim province of Anbar, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad on Thursday. A suicide bomber killed two police officers and wounded four others after an attack targeting a government compound, police said. They also reported that three more police officers had suffered injuries in a separate attack to the south of the city when a bomb in a parked car blew up. (Additional reporting by Fadhel al-Badrani in Falluja and a Reuters correspondent in Baquba; Writing by Sylvia Westall and Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Michael Roddy) ==== Car bomb in Iraq market kills three, wounds many Wed, Jul 04 10:10 AM EDT 1 of 5 ZUBAIDIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - A car bomb killed at least three people and wounded many others in a busy morning market in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim Iraqi town of Zubaidiya on Wednesday, the latest attack to raise fears of a return to widespread sectarian violence. Grocery store owner Haider Radhi told Reuters he watched a young man stop his car and get out seconds before the explosion. "I saw wounded people and bodies on the ground. I was so scared ... I started to transfer the wounded by car until the ambulances arrived in the town," Radhi, 30, said. Local authorities said three people were killed in the blast in Zubaidiya, about 100 km (60 miles) southeast of Baghdad. A health official said 10 people were injured while a member of the provincial council said 17 people were wounded. On Tuesday, bombs killed at least 44 people at markets in the country and authorities said they bore the hallmarks of sectarian attacks on Shi'ite Muslims by al Qaeda Sunni militants. Sunni insurgents often attack Shi'ite targets to try to reignite sectarian violence that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. One of Tuesday's bombings took place near a Shi'ite mosque where pilgrims gather on their way to the nearby city of Kerbala to celebrate the birthday of one of their most important imams, al-Mahdi, this week. Last month at least 237 people were killed and 603 wounded in attacks, mainly bombings, according to a Reuters tally, making June one of the bloodiest months in Iraq since U.S. troops withdrew at the end of last year. (Reporting by Jaafar al-Taie in Zubaidiya and Aseel Kami in Baghdad; Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Andrew Heavens) = Market bombs kill 44 before Iraqi Shi'ite ritual Tue, Jul 03 15:07 PM EDT 1 of 5 By Imad al-Khuzaie DIWANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Bombs killed at least 44 people at markets in Iraq on Tuesday, and authorities said they bore the hallmarks of sectarian attacks on Shi'ite Muslims by al Qaeda Sunni militants. A bomb in a small truck exploded in a market in the city of Diwaniya, killing 40 people, and other blasts killed four more near the city of Kerbala, police and officials said. The Diwaniya bombing was near a Shi'ite mosque where pilgrims gather on their way to Kerbala to celebrate the birthday of one of their most important imams, al-Mahdi, this week. Police announced a partial curfew and blocked all entrances to Diwaniya, 150 km (90 miles) south of Baghdad and 130 km southeast of Kerbala. Police sources said 75 people had been wounded. "All of a sudden the explosion happened, I felt the power of the blast, it was so strong, it broke all the glass in my windows," butcher Ahmed Hassan, 23, said in his shop. "I smelled blood and gunpowder." He said a fellow shopkeeper had been taking dead bodies to the hospital morgue. "We even saw body parts on the top of building, we took them down," said Hassan, looking pale and confused as he swept glass from his shop floor. STICKY BOMBS Shoes, toys and vegetables were scattered across the ground and at least 15 shops were destroyed. Two burnt-out vehicles stood near the site of the explosion. Witnesses said the bomb appeared to have been planted in a delivery truck. Earlier in the day, two bombs in a vegetable wholesale market killed four people and wounded 29 near the central Iraqi city of Kerbala, hospital and police sources said. "The bombing happened because of sticky bombs attached to two parked cars which went off separately," said Hussein Shadhan, a provincial council member, who was at the hospital. "Four of the wounded people are seriously injured and their medical situation is very critical." Reuters pictures showed pulverized vegetables covering the blackened market floor. People picked their way through twisted pieces of metal and smashed wooden crates. Hospital and police sources said earlier they believed the attack had also been targeting Shi'ite pilgrims on their way to Kerbala. "Initial investigations show that today's bombs bear the fingerprints of al Qaeda terrorist group," Salim Hussain, governor of Diwaniya, told Iraqiya state television. Iraq's al Qaeda wing has claimed responsibility for some of the recent bombings against Shi'ites. Last month at least 237 people were killed and 603 wounded in attacks, mainly bombings, according to a Reuters tally, making June one of the bloodiest months in Iraq since U.S. troops withdrew at the end of last year. The deadliest attack occurred on June 13 when bombers targeting Shi'ite pilgrims killed more than 70 people. Sunni insurgents often attack Shi'ite targets to try to reignite sectarian violence that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. (Additional reporting by Suadad al-Salhy, Ali al-Rubaie, Ahmed Rasheed and Aseel Kami; Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Andrew Roche) === Iraq bombs kill 70 Shi'ite pilgrims, police Wed, Jun 13 12:45 PM EDT 1 of 5 By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombers struck at Shi'ite pilgrims celebrating a religious festival in Baghdad and across Iraq on Wednesday, killing more than 70 people in one of the bloodiest days since the last U.S. troops left the country in December. The bombings appeared to be the work of Sunni insurgents who often hit Shi'ite targets to try to reignite the intercommunal violence that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. With the government's Sunni, Shi'ite and ethnic Kurdish parties already locked in a crisis that threatens to shatter their delicate power-sharing agreement, the attacks revived fears that Iraq risked sliding back into sectarian bloodshed. It was the worst day of violence since early January, when four bombs in Baghdad killed 73, and the latest in a spate of bombings on Shi'ite religious sites. At least 30 people were killed when four blasts hit pilgrims across Baghdad as they marched through the city to mark the anniversary of the death of Shi'ite imam Moussa al-Kadhim, a great-grandson of Prophet Mohammad. One car bomb exploded outside a Baghdad Shi'ite mosque while another blast tore into groups of pilgrims as they rested at refreshment tents along the route to a shrine in Kadhimiya district. "A group of pilgrims were walking and passed by a tent offering food and drinks when suddenly a car exploded near them," said Wathiq Muhana, a policeman whose patrol was stationed near the blast in central Karrada district. "People were running away covered with blood and bodies were scattered on the ground," he said. In a separate attack in the mainly Shi'ite southern city of Hilla, police said two simultaneous car bombs, including one detonated by a suicide bomber, exploded outside restaurants used by security forces, killing 22 people. "When a minibus packed with policemen stopped near the restaurants, a car exploded near the bus," said Maitham Sahib, owner of a restaurant in Hilla near the blast. "It's heart breaking. It is just sirens, and screams of wounded people." POLITICAL TENSIONS Iraq's renewed violence and political tensions will be closely watched by Sunni Gulf neighbors, and their rival, Shi'ite power Iran, who have meddled in Baghdad's politics in the past as they compete for regional influence. In total, more than 21 bombs exploded on Wednesday in Baghdad and the southern Iraqi cities of Kerbala, Balad, Haswa, which are predominantly Shi'ite areas that have been targeted before by Sunni Islamist insurgents. One person was killed when two bombs also hit offices of an ethnic Kurdish party in the northern city of Kirkuk, one of the areas at the heart of dispute between Baghdad's central government and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region in the north. Just as the pilgrims began arriving in Baghdad on Sunday, at least six people were killed and 38 wounded when two mortar bombs struck a packed square in Baghdad's Kadhimiya district. Earlier this month, 26 people were killed and more than 190 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-rigged car outside a Shi'ite religious office in Baghdad, an attack claimed by al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, Islamic State of Iraq. While violence has fallen sharply since the height of the war that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, insurgents are still potent. Large bombings generally still hit once a month, usually on security forces, government offices or Shi'ite targets. But since December when the last U.S. troops left, political tensions have also been on the rise. Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is fending off attempts by Sunni, Kurdish and some Shi'ite rivals to organize a vote of no confidence against him. Critics accuse him of failing to fulfill promises to share government posts among the blocks. Many Iraqi Sunnis fear Maliki is slowly sidelining them from the political process and trying to consolidate his own alliance's Shi'ite power at their expense. Baghdad's central government is also caught in a long-running fight with the autonomous Kurdistan over disputed land and oil claims. Kurdistan, which already has its own government and armed forces, but relies on Iraq's oil revenues, has halted its own crude exports and hinted at a full breakaway from Baghdad in protest over what they say is Maliki's authoritarian style. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Habib al-Zubaidi and Ali al-Rubaie in Hilla, Jamal al-Badrani in Mosul and Mustafa Mahmoud in Kirkuk; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Angus MacSwan)