Iraq attacks kill 123 civilians in three days

Iraq attacks kill 123 civilians in three days
Wed Jul 3, 2013 17:47:37

Attacks in Iraq killed at least 14 people Wednesday, the latest in a wave of bloodshed mostly targeting Shiite Muslims that has left 119 dead in the past three days.

The surge in violence has also wounded more than 300 others.

No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, but foreign backed Salafi militants linked to Al-Qaeda often target Shiites.

In the latest attack, a bomb went off in the Nahrawan area of southeast Baghdad on Wednesday morning, killing seven people and wounding at least 14 others, security and medical sources said.

Elsewhere, two car bombs in the main northern city of Mosul killed four people, while other attacks around Iraq left three dead. Three militants were also killed in separate incidents.

Wednesday's violence came after a wave of bombings and shootings across Iraq a day earlier killed 57, with 49 others having died in unrest on Monday.

And, according to one lawmaker, the situation is unlikely to get any better as Iraq heads into Ramadan, traditionally a month when insurgents look to step up their attacks.

The worst of Tuesday's violence struck Baghdad, with at least six car bombs hitting markets and commercial areas in predominantly Shiite neighborhoods, leaving 42 people dead and more than 100 wounded.

Four others were killed in shootings in the capital, while bombs were also set off in the mostly-Shiite southern cities of Basra, Amara and Samawa, as well as the Sunni Arab cities of Abu Ghraib, Kirkuk, Baquba and Mosul.

Tuesday's violence came a day after a series of attacks north of Baghdad left 49 people dead, among them 23 in a suicide bombing at a funeral in a Shiite religious hall.

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

Figures compiled by AFP, meanwhile, showed the death toll in that time was more than twice that of the first three months of the year.

Attacks in recent months have targeted a wide cross-section of Iraqi society -- government buildings 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.

Many of those attacks have struck Baghdad, but shootings and bombings have also been concentrated in the Sunni Arab north and west of the country.

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