Baghdad bombings kill 24

[gilliam]

Baghdad (CNN) – A series of bombings in Baghdad left 24 dead and dozens wounded Thursday, intensifying fears of an increase in sectarian violence in the midst of a political crisis.

A triple bombing in Baghdad’s Sadr City area Thursday morning killed at least nine people and wounded 35 others, an official with Iraq’s Interior Ministry said.

The first bomb – attached to a motorcycle – detonated near a group of laborers who were searching for day jobs in the Shiite neighborhood, according to the official. Shortly after that, two other bombs detonated in quick succession nearby.

edition.cnn.com/2012/01/05/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html?eref=edition

 

[Seamus_L]

There has been another more deadly attack since then. At least 45 people have been killed in Nassiriya, and around 70 have been injured in Kerbala. Shias appear to have been the targets in all three attacks.

 

[Dale_M]

Shia religious pilgrims were targeted at Nasiriya.

In the Sadr City section of Baghdad, a neighborhood which is predominantly Shia, a group of day laborers waiting to be hired were attacked. Similarly, people gathered in a tea shop were bombed.

Two car bombs killed 15 people in Kadhimiya, which is a suburb of Baghdad and is considered a holy city in Shia Islam.
bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16420554

Muqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand Shia cleric and political leader, draws much of his support from Sadr City. Has anyone heard how he might respond?

 

[Dale_M]

There are disputed reports regarding an attack on the Finance Minister’s convoy. Rafe al-Essawi claims that it was an assassination attempt on him, and that it took place in Salahuddin province. However, the Salahuddin Operations Command, a security agency answering to the central government in Baghdad, denied such an attack took place. Then, two hours later, the local police announced that it did take place.
nytimes.com/2012/01/03/world/middleeast/conflicting-reports-of-attack-on-iraqs-finance-minister-rafe-al-essawi.html?src=recg

Rafe al-Essawi is a Sunni physician who is regarded as a moderate. However, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who is Shia, has been trying to remove him from power. This is in part because al-Essawi belongs to the Iraqiya political coalition which is boycotting parliament and cabinet meetings. Iraqiya is largely Sunni.
nytimes.com/2011/12/31/world/middleeast/rafe-al-essawi-a-moderate-in-an-increasingly-polarized-iraq.html?scp=1&sq=al-Essawi&st=cse