Car bombs rock Baghdad
January 20, 2014
At least two dozen people were killed in Baghdad on Monday when car bombs ripped through several neighborhoods. Medical officials and security authorities reported that more than 40 people had sustained injuries in the blasts.
Initial reports gave varying reports on the locations of the bombings.
Explosions had reportedly occurred in the majority Sunni neighborhood of Dura, while three bombs were detonated in the majority Shiite neighborhoods of Jadida, Hurriyah and Bayaa, according to the news agency AFP.
The Reuters news agency reported a car bombing in the predominantly Shiite district of Abu Dsheer.
There were no claims of responsibility for Monday's bombings, but Sunni militants often linked to the al Qaeda terror network frequently target civilian and military targets or Shiite Muslims, who make up the government's leadership.
The explosions came a day after the Iraqi army launched a major military offensive against an al Qaeda offshoot in Ramadi, which took control of parts of the city last December, along with the entire nearby city of Fallujah.
Ramadi lies in the largely Sunni Anbar province, 128 kilometers (80 miles) west of Baghdad.
Violence in Iraq has risen sharply over the past year, raising concerns that the country could experience a level of bloodshed last seen in 2006-2007, when clashes between Sunnis and Shiites claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
kms/pfd (AFP, Reuters)