Attacks kill at least 58 people in Iraq: Officials.

Attacks kill at least 58 people in Iraq: Officials.

BAGHDAD | 29 Aug 2013 ::  A coordinated wave of bombings tore through Shia Muslim areas in and around the Iraqi capital early Wednesday, killing at least 58 and wounding many more, officials said.

The blasts, which came in quick succession, targeted residents out shopping and on their way to work.

The attacks are the latest in a relentless wave of killing that has left thousands dead since April, marking the country's worst spate of bloodshed since 2008. They raise fears that Iraq is hurtling back toward the brink of a civil war fueled by ethnic and sectarian differences.

Insurgents deployed explosives-laden cars, suicide bombers and other bombs and targeted parking lots, outdoor markets and restaurants in predominantly Shia neighborhoods of Baghdad, according to officials. A military convoy was also hit south of the capital.

The northern neighborhood of Kazimiyah, home to a prominent, gold-domed Shia shrine, was the worst hit.

Two bombs went off in a parking lot in the neighborhood, followed by a suicide car bomber who struck onlookers who had gathered at the scene. Police said a total of 10 people were killed and 27 wounded in that attack(Courtesy:Dawn) Read More>>>

Suicide bomber kills six at Pak-Afghan border.

File photo shows the Friendship Gate at
the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman
 region of Balochistan.—File Photo

CHAMAN | Syed Ali Shah | 05 Jul 2013 :: At least six officials, including an Afghan border commander, were killed and 19 others injured Friday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border near Chaman region of Balochistan.

Pakistani security officials, who did not want to be named, told Dawn.com that the suicide bomber blew up his detonative while targeting the vehicle of Afghan border forces.

“Our forces miraculously survived since the blast happened at Friendship Gate at Pak-Afghan border,” the source said.

According to reports, the incident happened on the Afghan side of the border.

An Afghan border force official, who did not want to be named, said six Afghan border security men were killed and another 19 sustained injuries. He confirmed that Afghan border commander Akhtar Muhammad had also been killed in the explosion.

Afghan security officials said Akhtar Muhammad was the intended target of the suicide attack.

The condition of five of the injured persons was stated to be serious and they were rushed to Quetta's bordering town of Chaman for medical treatment.

Frontier Corps sources, however, said that some Pakistanis were also among the injured.

The Pak-Afghan border at Chaman was immediately closed following the blast.

Later, FC persons were called at the border to control the situation. Moreover, security was tightened on both sides of the border to avert another untoward incident.

Chaman is a small town in the southwestern province of Balochistan and is one of the two main crossing points for supplies for American and Nato troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, suffers from a local separatist insurgency. Apart from a long-running nationalist movement, there has also been an alarming rise in sectarian terrorism in the province recently, with ethnic and religious minorities often targeted by militants.(Courtesy:Dawn)