Baghdad blasts kill 49, wound 167

PanARMENIAN.Net - A wave of violence ripped across Baghdad on Thursday, December 22 morning, killing at least 49 people and injuring nearly 200 in a coordinated attack designed to wreak havoc in the Iraqi capital just days after American forces left the country, The Associated Press reported.

The blasts were the worst violence since a political crisis between Iraq's Sunni and Shiite factions erupted this weekend. The political spat, which pits Iraq's Shiite prime minister against the highest-ranking Sunni political leader, has raised fears that Iraq's sectarian wounds will be reopened during a fragile time when Iraq is finally navigating its own political future without U.S. military support.

Iraqi officials said at least 12 blasts went off early Thursday morning in nine neighborhoods around the city. The explosions ranged from blasts from sticky bombs attached to cars to roadside bombs and vehicles packed with explosives.

Most of the attacks appeared to hit Shiite neighborhoods although some Sunni areas were also targeted.

The spokesman for the Iraqi health ministry put the death toll at 49 people and said at least 167 people were also injured. He did not have a breakdown of where the dead and injured were killed.

Earlier reports indicated that the worst of the violence occurred in al-Amal neighborhood where seven people were killed in a blast that appeared to target rescuers and officials who came to the scene after a previous explosion. At least four people were killed in one western Baghdad neighborhood when two roadside bombs exploded.

All the information came from police and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.