Al-Qaida claims responsibility for Iraq bombings.

Al-Qaida claims responsibility for Iraq bombings.

Baghdad | AP | 30 Jul 2013 :: Al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq has claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings across the country that killed at least 58 people, most of them in predominantly Shiite Muslim areas.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq, said on a website commonly used by Sunni extremists. The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified, but its style was consistent with earlier al-Qaida statements.

The blasts on Monday, 18 in all, were the latest in a surge of bloodshed that has swept across Iraq since April, killing more than 3,000 people and worsening the already strained ties between Iraq’s Sunni minority and the Shiite-led government. In July alone, nearly 700 people have been killed in insurgent attacks, according to an Associated Press count.

The scale and pace of the violence have fanned fears of a return to the widespread sectarian bloodletting that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Al-Qaida’s Iraqi branch and other Sunni insurgent groups have long targeted the country’s security forces in a bid to undermine faith in the Shiite-led government and to stir up sectarian tensions. But the group has grown emboldened in recent months following a government crackdown on Sunni protests calling for better treatment by the State.

Last week, the group carried out simultaneous attacks on two prisons that allowed hundreds of inmates, including senior al-Qaida members, to escape and left dozens of people dead.

A spokesman for al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, described the jailbreak as a “great victory” in an audio message posted on the same website on Tuesday.

Last year, al-Qaida launched a campaign called “Breaking the Walls” that made freeing its imprisoned members a top priority. Al-Adnani said that effort came to a close with the twin attacks on the prison, and announced a new campaign dubbed “The Harvest of the Soldiers.” He did not specify what the new operation aims to achieve.(Courtesy:The Hindu)

33 people killed in Iraq bombings.

33 people killed in Iraq bombings.

Baghdad | AFP  | 21 Jul 2013 :: A coordinated wave of car bombings tore through commercial streets in Baghdad tonight, killing more than 30 and wounding dozens as insurgents kept up a relentless offencive during the holy month of Ramadan.

The blasts struck in Shiite Muslim areas of the Iraqi capital. Although there was no claim of responsibility, coordinated bombings against Shiites are a favourite tactic of al-Qaeda's Iraq branch.

The explosions were all caused by car bombs timed to go off after the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast when many people are out shopping or relaxing in coffee shops, police said.

Bombings and other attacks have killed more than 230 people since the start of Ramadan on July 10. The violence is a continuation of a surge of bloodshed that has been rocking Iraq for months, reviving fears of a return to the widespread sectarian bloodshed that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 US-led invasion.

Today's blasts began with an explosion in a busy shopping street that shook buildings in the central Baghdad  neighbourhood of Karrada. Police say that attack killed nine and wounded 17, and left several shops and food stalls damaged.It was followed by similar car bombs that struck the northwestern Tobchi district, killing eight and wounding 29, and Baiyaa in western Baghdad, killing thee and wounding 13, authorities said.Another blast struck Zafaraniyah in southeastern Baghdad, killing six and wounding 15, officials said. Yet another exploded near a bakery in the New Baghdad neighbourhood in the southeast, killing three people and wounding 11, authorities said.

Another car bomb exploded in a Shiite part of the religiously mixed western neighbourhood of Shurta, a mainly  Sunni area, killing four and wounded 12, authorities said.

Hours before the Baghdad blasts, gunmen in pickup trucks shot and killed the local leader of a local Sunni militia opposed to al-Qaeda and two of his bodyguards near the city of Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of the Iraqi capital, according to police. Baqouba is the provincial capital of Diyala.

The official, Bassem Mahmoud, headed a Sunni group known as Sahwa, which joined the fight against al-Qaeda during the height of Iraq war.

Police provided details of the attacks, while hospital officials confirmed the death tolls. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to media.

These attacks came only a day after a deadly bombing at a Sunni mosque in Diyala killed 22 people and wounded dozens.(Courtesy:News 24)