Iraq: Up to 80 dead in bomb attacks

A WAVE of attacks has killed up to 80 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq, extending one of the most sustained bouts of sectarian violence the country has seen in years.

At least 13 people died in two car bomb attacks in BasraPicture: Ramzi al-Shaban/AFP/Getty Images

The attacks, some of which hit market places and crowded bus stops during the morning rush hour, are the latest in a recent spike in violence in Iraq that has targeted civilians and raised the death toll over the past week to more than 200 people.

The scenes have been reminiscent of the retaliatory attacks between the two groups that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006-7.

Tensions have been worsening since Iraq’s minority Sunnis began protesting against what they claim is mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government.

The mass demonstrations, which began last December, have largely been peaceful, but the number of attacks rose sharply after a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on 23 April.

Iraq’s Shiite majority, oppressed under Saddam Hussein’s rule, now controls the levers of power in the country. Wishing to rebuild the nation, they have largely restrained their militias over the past five years or so as Sunni extremist groups such as al-Qaeda have targeted them with occasional large-scale attacks.

But the renewed violence in both Shiite and Sunni areas since late last month has fuelled concerns of a return to sectarian warfare.

The worst of the latest violence yesterday took place in Baghdad, where nine car bombs ripped through open-air markets and other areas of Shiite neighbourhoods, killing at least 33 people and wounding nearly 130 more.

The surge in bloodshed has exasperated Iraqis, who have lived for years with the fear and uncertainty that came with random violence.

Baghdad resident Malik Ibrahim, 23, said: “How long do we have to continue living like this, with all the lies from the government?

“Whenever they say they have reached a solution, the bombings come back stronger than before. We’re fed up with them and we can’t tolerate this any more.”

The predominantly Shiite city of Basra in southern Iraq was also hit with two car bombs – one outside a restaurant and another at the city’s main bus station – killing at least 13 people and wounding 40. There was no claim of responsibility, but large-scale bombings bear the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda In Iraq.

The violence also struck Sunni areas, including the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, and the western province of Anbar.

A bomb in a parked car in Samarra went off near a gathering of pro-government Sunni militia who were waiting outside a military base to receive wages, killing three and wounding 13. In Anbar, gunmen ambushed two police patrols near the town of Haditha, killing eight officers.

Also in Anbar, authorities found 13 dead bodies in a remote desert area. The bodies, which included eight policemen who were kidnapped by gunmen on Friday, had each been killed with a gunshot to the head.