Geo 436 BAGHDAD: The death toll of a string of car bombs and roadside bomb explosions targeting Shiites in Baghdad has risen to 57, and 106 others were wounded, an interior ministry source told media. The most serious attack occurred close to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’’s office in Sadr city, killing 39 and wounding 56, said the source on condition of anonymity, adding that actually there were two cars loaded with explosives and were detonated together. In eastern Baghdad, another car bomb and a roadside bomb explosion attacked a Shiite mosque, leaving 8 killed and 23 injured, he said. Earlier in the day, a booby-trapped car apparently targeting a Shiite mosque blasted in northern Baghdad, killing 5 and wounding 14 others. A moment later, a market in Haifa street close to the Justice Ministry was also attacked by a car bomb explosion, wounding 7. Reporters could clearly see the heavy smoke rising from the blast site. Ambulances rushed to the site just a few minutes after the explosion. In a separate blast in southern Baghdad, 6 people were injured, said the source. Shiite commemorations have often been targeted by various armed groups in Iraq. A string of bomb blasts in the past week have already caused dozens of casualties. Time now is very sensitive in Iraq since political blocs are battling each other for cabinet formation after the country’’s just- hold parliamentary elections last month. During the past days, Iraqi forces killed three top al-Qaida leaders in operations, which was considered a big blow to the group’’s elements in the country. Some analysts say the attacks are aimed to show the current Shiite-dominated government is weak while others hold that those behind the attacks want to create a sectarian atmosphere.
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