Bomb Blast Kills Dozens in Iraq

Iraq Bombs: Dozens Killed In Car BlastsA string of bombings in Baghdad are the deadliest in a spate of nationwide attacks that left more than 50 dead.10:56pm UK, Tuesday 06 August 2013 The scene of a car bomb attack on Tuesday in Baghdad's Karrada district
EmailAt least 51 people have been killed by a series of car bombs that ripped through busy markets and shopping streets in and around Baghdad.

More than 100 were wounded in the blasts as Iraq battles with its worst surge of sectarian violence in five years.

More than 1,000 were killed in the country in July - the highest monthly death toll since 2008, the United Nations said.

The Interior Ministry ramped up security in the capital this week by closing roads and deploying additional police and helicopters.

Bombs went off in northern, eastern and southern districts of the capital late on Tuesday, in areas crowded with shoppers and worshippers near a mosque.


Wreckage at the scene of a blast in Baghdad's Karrada district

One of the attacks hit a square in central Baghdad, where a parked car bomb killed five and wounded 18.

In a mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood to the south, another car bomb exploded close to a shop selling ice cream after the evening breaking of the Ramadan fast.

In Nahrawan, 30km (20 miles) southeast of Baghdad, militants targeted a crowded commercial street with a car bomb.

On the northern outskirts of the capital, a bomb exploded near a packed market.

Co-ordinated strikes that kill scores of people have become more common in Iraq in recent months.

Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government since the start of the year and have been emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has stoked sectarian tensions across the Middle East.