Dozens killed in Iraq due to sectarian tensions

[AhlulbaytSoldier]

Officials said at least 176 people were
wounded from 12 bomb attacks across the
Iraqi capital [Reuters]
Dozens of people have been killed and many
more wounded in a series of blasts in Baghdad.
At least 63 people died and 176 people were
wounded in 12 bombings across the Iraqi capital
on Thursday morning, health ministry sources
told Al Jazeera.
The wave of bombings come amid renewed
fears of sectarian strife following the withdrawal
of US troops and a deepening political crisis
over an arrest warrant issued for Tariq al-
Hashimi, the country's vice president and most
senior Sunni politician.
The attacks largely coincided with the morning
rush hour, and security forces cordoned off
bomb sites, AFP news agency correspondents
and officials said.
Authorities believe the attacks were well co-
ordinated, Al Jazeera's Omar al- Saleh said,
reporting from Baghdad.
"We don't know who carried out the attacks, the
Iraqi security officials did not identify any
suspects yet," Saleh said, adding: "This I think is
a major setback to the security forces on the
ground who have a large presence in the capital.
You have checkpoints, you have roadsblocks,
and you have both the military and the Iraqi
police guarding different areas, yet these
attacks do occur."
Iraqi officials said the bombs struck in the Allawi,
Bab al- Muatham and Karrada districts of central
Baghdad, the Adhamiyah, Shuala and Shaab
neighbourhoods in the north, Jadriyah in the
east, Ghazaliyah in the west and al-Amil and
Dura in the south.
The largest explosion took place near the
Rahbaat (Sisters) hospital and the Integrity and
Transparency Directorate in Karrada district,
sources told Al Jazeera.
The blast caused great material damage and the
bodies of those killed were laid out in the
streets, eyewitnesses said.
'Politically' motivated
"I saw all the windows were blown out and glass
scattered everywhere. The children were scared
and crying," said Raghad Khalid, a teacher at a
kindergarten near the Karrada blast.
"Some parts of the car bomb are inside our
building."
Smoke hung over the blast site in Karrada as
ambulances rushed in to ferry the wounded to
hospital.
Tensions between Iraq's Shia and Sunni
communities have been heightened in recent
days after Baghdad officials issued an arrest
warrant for Hashimi over allegations that he
ordered the killings of opponents.
Hashimi denies the charges and says they are
politically motivated. Some Sunnis say Nouri al-
Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, is seeking to
consolidate Shia control of the country following
the departure last week of the remaining US
troops stationed in the country.
"The fears of the people became reality," our
correspondent in Baghdad said.
"I think the people are really scared and I think
the politicians do know that their differences will
be translated into attacks like these on the
streets of Baghdad.
"From the official point of view, no one has
come out yet saying there is a direct link, but
among the general population they do have a
fear and a genuine belief that attacks like this
are a direct result of the differences between
politicians," he added.
Violence in Iraq has ebbed since the height of
sectarian fighting in 2006- 2007 when suicide
bombers and hit- squads targeted Sunni and Shia
communities in attacks that killed thousands and
pushed the country to the edge of civil war.





The sunnis should get themselvss ready for any attack from shias.