News

Dozens Killed in Series of Explosions in Iraq

by Nuzha Nuseibeh

In what's looking like coordinated attacks on people enjoying the end of the month of Ramadan, a series of bomb blasts killed 60 people and injured almost 300 in Baghdad Saturday.

The succession of 12 car bombs went off within an hour of each other in mainly Shi'ite neighborhoods of the Iraqi city. They targeted mostly parks, shopping markets and busy streets that were full of locals celebrating Eid-al-Fitr, the end of four weeks of fasting. The deadliest attack happened in the evening, in the city suburb of Jisr Diyala, killing seven people and injuring another 20.

These latest explosions are similar to bombings earlier in the week on Tuesday, in which 50 people died.

The U.S. issued a statement condemning what they called the "cowardly attacks" that were "aimed at families celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday."

"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 added.

On Sunday, another two explosions went off near an army checkpoint and a convoy close to Baghdad, killing another five soldiers and wounding at least nine others.

Tensions between the different factions within the Iraqi government have been on the rise, and since 2013, the number of civilians being caught in the crossfire has dramatically increased. This July alone, over 1000 Iraqis died in the violence — the highest death toll the country has seen since 2008.