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Blasts kill 120; pressure on Maliki

Atul Aneja

Photo: AP

WRECKED: Residents inspecting the scene where a suicide car bomber crashed into an Iraqi police checkpoint, killing 33 persons and injuring 75 near Sadr City in Baghdad on Wednesday.

DUBAI: A string of bombings has killed at least 120 persons in Baghdad, marking a surge in violence that threatens to deepen the sectarian strife in Iraq.

Most of the victims of the blasts were Shias. A car bombing in Sadriya food market, located in a predominantly Shia area, killed more than 80 persons. Witnesses said bodies had piled up after the explosion. The victims included several women and children.

Another blast at a checkpoint in Sadr city — the stronghold of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, killed 30. Ten more died in an attack near a hospital in Baghdad's Karrada district.

Wednesday's attacks are likely to leave their mark on Prime Minister Maliki's political credibility. Mr. Maliki had earlier said the forces would assume complete charge of national security by the end of the year. He is also under pressure from the al-Sadr camp. Mr. al-Sadr's party has withdrawn support from the ruling coalition, citing the Government's inability to set a timetable for the American withdrawal from Iraq. Iraq's spiralling violence has triggered a wave of refugees into neighbouring Arab countries and beyond.

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