- Title: IRAQ: Shi'ite anger stoked as wave of Eid bombings kills scores of Iraqis
- Date: 11th August 2013
- Summary: SHULA DISTRICT, BAGHDAD, IRAQ (AUGUST 11, 2013) (REUTERS) PILE OF WRECKED CARS MAN WALKING NEAR WRECKED CARS MAN POSING NEAR BURNT OUT AND DAMAGED CARS PILES OF WRECKED CARS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF AREA "Where are the security forces? It is Eid and people want to celebrate Eid and have fun. We will continue to suffer. Look at the shops. My son has five shops and all of them were burnt out. He is a foodstuffs wholesaler. Who will compensate him? We are working to earn our living" DEMOLISHED SHOP AND DAMAGED CAR NEARBY DAMAGED DEVICES INSIDE SHOP DAMAGED SHOP HIT BY BLAST
- Embargoed: 26th August 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- City:
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVA8Z156OZR4HQ4FTWQ5VHPAD6VS
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: A series of car bombs in mainly Shi'ite areas of Baghdad killed 57 people and wounded more than 150 on Saturday (August 10), in what appeared to be co-ordinated attacks on people celebrating the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The 12 separate blasts targeting markets, busy shopping streets and parks where families like to mark Eid were part of a surge in sectarian violence in Iraq since the start of the year.
This has been one of the deadliest Ramadan months in years, with regular bomb attacks killing scores of people, especially in the capital. The latest bombings were similar to attacks in Baghdad on Tuesday in which 50 died.
In one of the attacks, a car bomb went off in a market in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighbourhood of Shula, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 15 others, according to people of the neighbourhood.
"Where are the security forces? It is Eid and people want to celebrate Eid and have fun. We will continue to suffer. Look at the shops. My son has five shops and all of them were burnt out. He is a foodstuffs wholesaler. Who will compensate him? We are working to earn our living," said a resident of area.
More than 1,000 Iraqis have been killed in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008, according to the United Nations.
The Interior Ministry has said the country faced an "open war" fuelled by Iraq's sectarian divisions and has ramped up security in Baghdad, closing roads and sending out frequent helicopter patrols.
Eighteen months since the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government, and have been emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None