Baghdad bomb attacks leave scores dead and hundreds injured
Iraq's health ministry puts death toll at 57 after series of attacks rock the city days after US forces leave the country
A wave of violence across Baghdad has killed at least 57 people and injured nearly 200 just days after American forces left the country.
The blasts come after a political crisis between Iraq's Sunni and Shia factions erupted last weekend. The spat, which pits Iraq's Shia prime minister against the highest-ranking Sunni political leader, has raised fears that Iraq's sectarian wounds will be reopened as Iraq begins navigating its own political future without US military support.
Iraqi officials said at least 12 blasts went off early on Thursday morning in nine neighbourhoods around the city. The explosions ranged from sticky bombs attached to cars to roadside bombs and vehicles packed with explosives.
Most of the attacks appeared to hit Shia neighbourhoods, although some Sunni areas were also targeted.
The spokesman for the Iraqi health ministry put the death toll at 57 and said at least 167 people were also injured. He did not have a breakdown of where the dead and injured were killed.
Earlier reports indicated that the worst of the violence occurred in al-Amal neighbourhood where seven people were killed in a blast that appeared to target rescuers and officials who arrived at the scene after a previous explosion. At least four people were killed in one western Baghdad neighbourhood when two roadside bombs exploded.
All the information came from police and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
In the south-western neighbourhood of Karrada, where one of the victims was killed, sirens could be heard as ambulances rushed to the scene and a large plume of smoke rose over the explosion site.
"My baby was sleeping in her bed. Shards of glass have fallen! on our heads. Her father hugged her and carried her. She is now scared in the next room," said one woman in western Baghdad who said her name was Um Hanin. "All countries are stable. Why don't we have security and stability?"
While Baghdad and Iraq have become safer over the past few years, explosions like Thursday's are still commonplace. They come at a precarious time in Iraq's political history, just days after US troops pulled out of the country.
The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused the Sunni vice-president, Tariq al-Hashimi, of running a hit squad targeting government officials. Al-Maliki is also pushing for a vote of no confidence against another Sunni politician, the deputy prime minister, Saleh al-Mutlaq.
Many Sunnis fear that this is part of a wider campaign to go after Sunni political figures in general and shore up Shia control across the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's violence. But the co-ordinated nature of the assault and the fact that the attacks took place in numerous neighbourhoods suggest a planning capability only available to al-Qaida in Iraq.
Many of the neighbourhoods were also Shia areas, which are a favourite target of al-Qaida. The Sunni extremist group often targets Shias who they believe are not true Muslims.
US military officials have said they are worried about a resurgence of al-Qaida after the American military leaves the country. If that happens, it could lead Shia militants to fight back and attack Sunni targets, sending Iraq back to the sectarian violence it experienced just a few years ago.
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