Wave of Bombings Kills more than 46 in Iraq

Local Editor

A wave of attacks in Iraq, including a spate of bombings at markets, killed at least 46 people on Tuesday.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks but militants linked to al-Qaeda frequently perpetrate such killings.
Tuesday's deadliest violence struck the capital, with several car bombs ripping through markets where 32 people were killed, according to security and medical officials.

Vehicles rigged with explosives went off minutes apart at around 6:00 pm in packed commercial areas of Shuala, Kamiliyah, Shaab, Hurriyah and Abu Tcheer neighborhoods.

"I was watching TV and then I heard a very loud explosion," said Ahmed Ibrahim, a day laborer whose apartment balcony was completely destroyed by the nearby car bomb in Kamiliyah, where pools of blood had formed on the ground.
"Most people fled the scene, they were afraid of a second car bomb," he said, referring to a common militant tactic to target onlookers in an effort to maximize casualties
.
"God will take revenge on those who attacked us," the 31-year-old said. "Those who did this are terrorists, they are not Muslims, they are unbelievers."
Meanwhile, car bombs also went off in southern cities of Basra, Amara and Samawa, leaving a total of three people dead and nearly 50 more wounded.

Shootings elsewhere in the capital killed four more people, while bombings in the restive northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul left one person dead and three wounded.
The violence comes a day after a series of attacks north of Baghdad left 45 people dead, including 23 killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a funeral taking place inside a religious hall.

The United Nations has said that more than 2,500 people were killed in a surge of violence from April through June.

Attacks in recent months have targeted a wide cross-section of Iraqi society -- government targets and security forces were hit by car bombs, mosques were struck by suicide attackers, anti-Qaeda militiamen were shot dead, and Iraqis watching and playing football were killed by blasts.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team