A wave of car bombs exploded in predominantly Shia neighbourhoods of Baghdad today, killing at least 42 people.
The deadliest attack was in the eastern Sadr City district, where a car bomb tore through a vegetable market and a car park, killing seven people, including two soldiers, and wounding about 16.
That was followed by four parked car bombs, which went off in quick succession in New Baghdad, Habibiya, Sabaa al-Bour and Kazimiyah — all striking outdoor markets or car parks. These attacks killed a total of 17 civilians and wounded 59, according to police. It was not immediately clear who carried out the bombings, but hardline Sunni militants, who view Shia Muslims as non-believers, have been stepping up their insurgency and striking with a ferocity not seen in years.
The rise in sectarian violence has led to fears of a return to the bloodshed of 2008. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people are estimated to have been killed this year. More than two years of civil war in Syria have strained Iraq’s fragile coalition of Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions. Al Qaeda is believed to be trying to build on the Sunni minority’s discontent over their treatment by the Shia-led government.
Shias, security personnel, government employees of both sects and government-backed Sunni “Sahwa” militia members are prime targets for al Qaeda and the Sunni insurgents.
Yesterday, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque where a Shia funeral was being held, killing at least 40 people in Mussayab, 40 miles south of Baghdad.
Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous province of Kurdistan, was also hit by a series of bombings, killing six members of the security services.
Officials said the violence could be linked to fighting between jihadists and Kurds in Syria.
