BAGHDAD: A wave of car bombings targeting those celebrating the end of Ramadan across Iraq killed 69 people Saturday, a bloody reminder of the inability of Iraqi authorities to stop violence threatening to spiral out of control.

Violence has been on the rise across Iraq since a deadly crackdown by government forces on a Sunni protest camp in April, and attacks against civilians and security forces notably spiked during Ramadan. The surge of attacks has sparked fears that the country could see a new round of widespread sectarian bloodshed similar to that which brought the country to the edge of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

The bloodshed also comes after Iraqi security forces promised to step up efforts to increase security to protect the public during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations that mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This year’s Ramadan was the most violence since 2007, with 671 people killed.

“My shop’s windows were smashed and smoke filled the whole area,” said shoe shop owner Saif Mousa, who survived an attack near his store in New Baghdad. “I went outside of the shop and I could hardly see because of the smoke. … At the end, we had a terrible day that was supposed to be nice because of Eid.”

Many of the attacks occurred within an hour of each other, suggesting a level of coordination in the assaults. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, though security forces and civilians are frequently targeted by al-Qaida’s Iraq branch.

U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned the attacks, saying in a statement that they are similar to suicide and vehicle bomb attacks in the country in the past month-and-a-half conducted by al-Qaida’s Iraq branch.

The group is led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and al-Baghdadi has taken personal credit for a series of terrorist attacks in Iraq since 2011, including an attack against the Abu Ghraib prison, Psaki said.

The U.S. has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture or death and the reward is second only to information leading to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chief of the Al Qaeda network.

“The terrorists who committed these acts are enemies of Islam and a shared enemy of the United States, Iraq, and the international community,” the statement said.
Police said the deadliest of Saturday’s attacks took place when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a residential area in the town of Tuz Khormato, killing eight people and wounding dozens, Mayor Shalal Abdool said. The town is about 200 kilometers (130 miles) north of the Iraqi capital.

Police said a car bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the Baghdad’s southeastern suburbs of Jisr Diyala shortly before sunset, killing seven people and wounding 20.

Also in southeastern Baghdad, officials said a car bomb went off inside a parking lot in the mainly Shiite New Baghdad neighborhood, killing three people. Another car bomb exploded in a busy street in the Shiite neighborhood of Amil, killing three people and wounding 14, authorities said. They said another car bomb in Amil killed 3 people and wounded 14.

In the holy Shiite city of Karbala, police said four people were killed in a car bomb attack near a cafe at night. Karbala is 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad.

Police said four people were killed and 15 wounded when a car bomb exploded near a cafe in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Abu Dashir.

In northern Baghdad, a car bomb hit a restaurant in the Shiite area of Khazimiyah, killing five people and wounding 14, authorities said. Police also said that five people were killed when a car bomb exploded near a cafe in Baghdad’s southwestern neighborhood of Baiyaa.

Six people were killed and 15 were wounded in a car bomb explosion in the Shiite neighborhood of Shaab in northeastern Baghdad, officials said.

A car bomb hit near restaurant in the city’s northeastern suburb of Husseiniyah, killing seven people and wounding 15, police said.

Also, a car bomb explosion a commercial street in the Dora area in southern Baghdad killed five and wounded 15, authorities said.

Earlier in the day, four people, including two children, were killed when a bomb exploded near a park just south of Baghdad, authorities said.

Later, a car bomb exploded in a busy street in Nasiriyah city in southern Iraq, killing four people and wounding 41 others, officials said. Nasiriyah is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

In the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a car bomb hit near a Shiite mosque, killing one person and wounding 20 others, police said.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures for all the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

The death toll in Saturday’s attacks is the highest single-day total since July 20, when brazen assaults on two prisons near Baghdad plus other attacks left 71 dead.

More than 1,000 people were killed in Iraq in July, the highest monthly death toll in five years, according to the United Nations. The U.N. described the increase as particularly troubling because the numbers had begun declining five years ago following a series of U.S.-led offensives and a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq.

Iraqi officials have attributed the recent uptick in the death toll figures to a change in tactics by insurgents who are now trying to attack crowded, soft civilian targets such as cafes, mosques and markets in order to kill as many people as possible.

At least 10 people were killed when two car bombs blew up near a bus station in the city of Kut, 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of the capital, police said.

Four more died in a blast in the town of Mahmoudiya, about 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad.

The rest of the bombings took place across Baghdad, in Sadr city, Habibiya, Hurriya, Bayaa, Ur, Shurta, Kadhimiya and Risala neighborhoods.

A relentless campaign of bombings and shootings has killed nearly 4,000 people in Iraq since the start of the year, according to violence monitoring group Iraq Body Count.

The violence has raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict in a country where Kurds, Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

In recent months, Sunni Islamist militants have regained momentum an their insurgency against the Shi’ite-led government, striking with a ferocity not seen in years.

In July alone, more than 810 people have lost their lives in militant attacks.

Sectarian tensions across the region have been inflamed by the civil war in neighboring Syria, which has drawn Shi’ites and Sunnis from Iraq and beyond into battle on opposite sides.

A police officer says a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden motorcycle into a funeral tent for a Shiite family in Muqdadiyah, killing 13 people. The town is about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad.

The mayor of the northern town of Dujail says a parked car bomb went off outside a Shiite mosque there late on Thursday.

Nayif al-Khazrachi says as people gathered around the blast site, another bomb went off. The twin bombing killed at least 11 people. Dujail is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Baghdad.

Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The deadliest attack was in the mainly Shi’ite Muslim Shaab district of northern Baghdad, where twin car bombs killed eight people.

A sustained campaign of attacks since the start of the year has increased fears of wider conflict in a country where ethnic Kurds, Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable power-sharing compromise.

Insurgents have been recruiting from Iraq’s Sunni minority, which resents Shi’ite domination since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Sectarian tensions have been inflamed by the civil war in neighboring Syria, which is fast spreading into a region-wide proxy war, drawing in Shi’ite and Sunni fighters from Iraq and elsewhere to fight on opposite sides of the conflict.

BAGHDAD: Insurgents attacked cities across Iraq on Monday with car bombs, suicide blasts and gun battles that killed more than 70 people in unrest that has deepened fears of a return to civil war.

No group claimed responsibility for the day-long attacks, most of them in northern Iraq, but officials blame much of the violence that has killed nearly 2,000 people since April on Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda’s local wing.

Weeks of bloodshed have accompanied rising political tensions between Iraq’s majority Shi’ite leaders and members of the Sunni community, who believe they have been marginalized since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

But war in neighboring Syria, where Shi’ite Iran and the region’s Sunni Gulf states are backing opposing sides, has also put pressure on Iraq’s own balance among Shi’ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurds who share power in a fragile government.

Markets in two northern Iraqi towns were hit early on Monday, police said. Later attacks targeted security forces. In the northern city of Mosul, suicide bombers and rocket fire struck police headquarters, killing 24, many of them police and soldiers.

“I was selling watermelon and suddenly I heard a powerful blast at the entrance to the market. I fled from the dust and smoke when a second blast turned the place into hell,” said Hassan Hadi, a farmer wounded in one of the market attacks.

“I was hit in my leg and lay down in shock.”

Most of the apparently coordinated violence hit the north of the country and included at least eight suicide blasts and gun battles at military bases or checkpoints.

Two roadside bombs also exploded near a cafe, killing four people in the Shi’ite district of Sadr City, northeastern Baghdad, police said.

Suicide attacks are the signature of al Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate, Islamic State of Iraq, and their growing frequency, in particular so many in one day, appears to indicate the extent to which Islamist insurgents are regrouping.

Invigorated by Syria’s mostly Sunni revolt and tapping into bitter Iraqi Sunni discontent with the Shi’ite-led government, al Qaeda’s local wing is regaining some ground lost during its war with U.S. troops, who left Iraq in December 2011.

Since December, thousands of Sunnis have protested against the government. But an Iraqi army raid on a Sunni protest camp in the town of Hawija in April reignited violence.

Monthly death tolls since then have been the worst since the inter-communal bloodletting five years ago that killed tens of thousands, partitioned Baghdad into districts based on religious sect and drove Iraq to the edge of civil war.

At the height of Iraq’s sectarian violence, the monthly death count sometimes topped 3,000.

Three parked car bombs exploded virtually simultaneously, tearing through a wholesale vegetable and fruit market in the town of Jidaidat al-Shatt in Diyala province. The town is just outside the provincial capital of Baqouba, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

The explosions also wounded 34 people, said police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Iraq is facing a spike in violence, with recent monthly death tolls rising to levels not seen since 2008. According to the United Nations, at least 1,045 Iraqi civilians and security personnel were killed in May. The tally surpassed April’s 712 killed.

The three car bombs used in Monday’s attack were put in different locations in and around the town market in order to inflict most damage and casualties, the police officials said.

Medics said that some people died of their wounds in the hospitals. Provincial councilman Sadiq al-Husseini confirmed the casualty figures.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday’s attacks, but car bombs are a favorite method used by Sunni extremists.

BAGHDAD: The United Nations mission to Iraq said Saturday that more than 1,000 people were killed in violence across the country last month — the highest monthly death toll in years.

Violence in Iraq increased sharply in April and May, with bombings in civilian areas growing more frequent and escalating fears that widespread sectarian conflict may once again break out in the country. The bloodshed accelerated after a deadly April 23 crackdown by security forces on a Sunni protest in the northern town of Hawija.

The U.N. figures showed that 1,045 civilians and security personnel were killed in May. That surpassed the 712 killed in April, the deadliest month recorded since June 2008.

U.N. envoy Martin Kobler called the figures “a sad record.”

“Iraqi political leaders must act immediately to stop this intolerable bloodshed,” he said in a statement.

More than half of those killed were in the greater Baghdad area. Car bombs and other explosives were responsible for the bulk of the casualties across the country.

Hours after the casualty figures were released, Iraq’s Defense Ministry announced it had busted an alleged al-Qaida cell that had been attempting to produce chemical weapons.

The ministry’s spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, told reporters that the cell members conducted experiments and set up labs with the intent of producing chemical agents, including sarin and mustard gas.

Al-Askari said the cell members had managed to acquire some raw materials and formulas, but they had not produced any active chemical weapons. It was unclear how far along they were in their efforts.

Reporters were shown four of the alleged suspects, who were hooded, and a table displaying beakers and jars of chemical compounds. At one point, soldiers wearing gas masks and gloves brought out containers containing alleged chemical ingredients. Neither al-Askari nor the media at the press conference were given any protective gear, however.

Authorities on Friday imposed a sweeping ban on temporary license plates for cars across the Iraqi capital in an apparent effort to thwart car bombings. The temporary black plates are common in post-war Iraq, where for years it was difficult to obtain new ones. They are typically on older-model vehicles and are more difficult to trace, and authorities say they are frequently used in car bombings.

Many roads were also closed throughout Baghdad on Saturday.

The heightened security measures come as the Shiite faithful begin making an annual pilgrimage to the shrine of eighth-century Shiite saint Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in Baghdad. Pilgrims traditionally walk to the twin-domed shrine in Kazimiyah, where al-Kadhim is buried.

Tallies of Iraqi casualties have long been the subject of debate, and the U.N. total is considerably higher than that reported by news agencies in the country. The Associated Press counted at least 578 Iraqis killed in May, based on reports from Iraqi officials.

The U.N. says its totals are based on direct investigation and accounts from credible outside sources. They are conservative and may under-report the actual numbers of those killed, according to the U.N.

Iraqi authorities believe the local offshoot of al-Qaida and other Sunni-backed militant groups are responsible for much of the violence. But a series of attacks on Sunni mosques that have left more than 100 dead in recent weeks is raising concerns that Shiite militants are also behind some of the violence.

Iraq witnessed its deadliest bout of violence between 2006 and 2007, when the country was on the brink of civil war and armed men roamed the streets of Baghdad. At the peak of the sectarian bloodshed between Shiite and Sunnis, more than 3,000 were being killed every month.

While the killing remains far below levels seen last decade, Iraqis are growing increasingly concerned about the surge in unrest.

“People are now more cautious and more shops are closing earlier in my neighborhood,” said Thabit Sultan Ahmed, 42, a teacher from the Sunni neighborhood of Saydiyah in western Baghdad. “The main obsession of all Iraqi people now is how to survive the violence, not about thinking about their rights or demands.”

Police say most of Thursday’s blasts went off in Baghdad. Car bombs killed four in the northeastern Shiite neighborhood of Binouq, and three died in a bombing at a market selling spare car parts incentral Baghdad.

Authorities say a roadside bomb exploded on a police patrol in the central commercial district of Karradah, killing three. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties.

In the northern city of Mosul, two police officers say a suicide bomber killed three when he blew himself up on a federal police checkpoint.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to media.

Baghdad: At least 51 people have been killed and more than 160 others were wounded in a wave of violence in Iraq on Monday, Iraqi Interior Ministry sources told CNN.

The attacks continue the increase in political and sectarian violence in Iraq, including its capital, Baghdad, over the past several weeks.

Much of the violence included Sunnis squaring off with Shiites and the Shiite-led government.

Most of the casualties Monday were in and around Baghdad, where 11 car bombs exploded, mostly in Shiite neighborhoods, Also, one bomb exploded in the central Baghdad commercial area of Bab al-Sharqi, near street vendors. Another exploded in the New Baghdad district in eastern Baghdad, close to shops and a Sunni mosque.

There were several incidents in Anbar and Nineveh provinces, but officials did not give further details.

According to a CNN tally, more than 300 people have been killed in acts of violence across the country since the beginning of May.

Over the past week, Iraqi security forces increased their presence in the capital’s streets and established more checkpoints.

BAGHDAD: A car bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque in the west of Baghdad killing 11 people on Tuesday, police and medics said.

The blast, which took place in Abu Ghraib, also wounded 21 people. Earlier on Tuesday, several bomb blasts killed at least 12 people in Iraq, where Sunni-Shi’ite tensions are running high.