News / International
63 killed in a wave of explosions in Iraq
22 Dec 2011 at 09:34hrs | Views
Fourteen bombs exploded in a series of coordinated attacks on Thursday morning during the rush hour in Baghdad
At least 63 people died and 185 people were wounded in 12
bombings across the Iraqi capital on Thursday morning, authorities say raising fears about the stability of the country amid
political upheaval that threatens to undo Iraq's government just days
after U.S. troops withdrew from the country.
Nine car bombs and six roadside bombs went off and a mortar round was fired in a two-hour period, targeting residential, commercial and government districts in the Iraqi capital, two police officials told CNN.
The violence comes as Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders square off over a warrant issued for the arrest of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who is accused of organizing his security detail into a death squad that targeted government and military officials.
Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has demanded Kurdish lawmakers hand over the Sunni vice president, who has denied the charges and refuses to return to Baghdad from northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
The seemingly coordinated explosions Thursday struck during the height of morning rush hour, hitting a number of Baghdad's primarily mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods.
There have been no immediate claims of responsibility, though the attacks resemble previous bombings that have been claimed by both Sunni and Shiite insurgents as well as al Qaeda in Iraq.
Among the attacks was a parked car bomb explosion outside the offices of the Integrity Commission, the country's main anti-corruption body, that killed at least one person and wounded five others, said the police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details to the media.
At the Medical City hospital in central Baghdad, doctors treated the wounded whose bodies were peppered with what appeared to be shrapnel from explosions, according to CNN video.
Images of bloodied, battered bodies and destroyed storefronts and homes were broadcast on Iraqi television stations.
While violence in Iraq has fallen off in recent years, the latest spate of attacks are among the worst since August when a series of coordinated bombings killed at least 75 people in 17 Iraqi cities.
The attacks come amid heightened sectarian tensions, raising fears that the political turmoil in Iraq could spark a return of sectarian bloodshed that nearly ripped the country apart during the height of the war.
Al-Hashimi has denied the charges against him, saying the accusations are politically motivated amid the rivalry between his Sunni-backed Iraqiya minority political bloc and al-Maliki's Shiite majority bloc.
The warrant for al-Hashimi's arrest was issued just days after Iraqiya suspended its participation in Parliament amid claims it was being cut out of the political process by al-Maliki.
The prime minister has said failing to hand over al-Hashimi or allowing him to flee to another country "could cause problems."
Nine car bombs and six roadside bombs went off and a mortar round was fired in a two-hour period, targeting residential, commercial and government districts in the Iraqi capital, two police officials told CNN.
The violence comes as Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders square off over a warrant issued for the arrest of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who is accused of organizing his security detail into a death squad that targeted government and military officials.
Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has demanded Kurdish lawmakers hand over the Sunni vice president, who has denied the charges and refuses to return to Baghdad from northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
The seemingly coordinated explosions Thursday struck during the height of morning rush hour, hitting a number of Baghdad's primarily mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods.
There have been no immediate claims of responsibility, though the attacks resemble previous bombings that have been claimed by both Sunni and Shiite insurgents as well as al Qaeda in Iraq.
Among the attacks was a parked car bomb explosion outside the offices of the Integrity Commission, the country's main anti-corruption body, that killed at least one person and wounded five others, said the police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details to the media.
Images of bloodied, battered bodies and destroyed storefronts and homes were broadcast on Iraqi television stations.
While violence in Iraq has fallen off in recent years, the latest spate of attacks are among the worst since August when a series of coordinated bombings killed at least 75 people in 17 Iraqi cities.
The attacks come amid heightened sectarian tensions, raising fears that the political turmoil in Iraq could spark a return of sectarian bloodshed that nearly ripped the country apart during the height of the war.
Al-Hashimi has denied the charges against him, saying the accusations are politically motivated amid the rivalry between his Sunni-backed Iraqiya minority political bloc and al-Maliki's Shiite majority bloc.
The warrant for al-Hashimi's arrest was issued just days after Iraqiya suspended its participation in Parliament amid claims it was being cut out of the political process by al-Maliki.
The prime minister has said failing to hand over al-Hashimi or allowing him to flee to another country "could cause problems."
Source - CNN | Aljazeera
