Bombings struck several areas in Baghdad and to the north on Thursday, killing at least 30 people in the first major attacks in Iraq in nearly a month. The violence stoked fears that militants were trying to undermine confidence in the Shia-led government amid rising sectarian tensions.
In all, officials said extremists launched 12 attacks in the Iraqi capital and in the cities of Kirkuk, Samarra, Baqouba, Dibis and Taji. Mortars were fired into the northern cities of Beiji and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, but no injuries were reported there.
Nearly 100 people were wounded in the rapid-fire explosions that unfolded over an hour and 15 minutes. Half of the bombs struck at security forces and government officials — two frequent targets for militants still seeking to undermine Iraq's efforts to normalise after years of war and violence.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but the Baghdad military command spokesman said they resembled those carried out by al-Qaeda.
The strikes marked the first major attacks in Iraq in nearly a month, though ongoing political battles between the Shia-led government and top Sunni and Kurdish officials have threatened to inflame simmering sectarian disputes.
Iraq's Sunni Vice-President, Tariq al-Hashemi, is wanted on terror charges that he says are politically motivated, and Kurdish regional leader Massoud Barzani has compared the government in Baghdad to a dictatorship. Aides to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia, have dismissed the criticism as baseless.
The single deadliest bombing on Thursday came in Dibis, located near the northern city of Kirkuk, 290 km north of Baghdad. A parked car exploded in the Sunni Arab village, killing six passers-by and wounding four.
Drop in attacks
Overall, attacks have dropped sharply nationwide since Iraq threatened to dissolve into civil war five years ago. Violence recently waned since the run-up to the Arab League summit that was held in Baghdad at the end of March. But bombings and deadly shootings across Iraq are still common.
Iraq's fragile coalition government has threatened to break down for months, beginning right after U.S. troops withdrew from the country in late December.
