Baghdad, April 4: Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs near embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 42 people and wounding over 200 in back-to-back attacks, the authorities said. The bombings came two days after a chilling execution-style attack by gunmen who raided homes south of Baghdad, killing 24 people, many of them believed to be anti-Al Qaeda fighters.

The rise in bloodshed after a relative lull deepened fears that insurgents are seizing on the political uncertainty after last month’s close parliamentary elections to sow further instability. Sunday’s blasts went off within minutes of each other — one near the Iranian embassy and two others in an area that houses several embassies, including the Egyptian consulate, the German and Spanish embassies, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the city’s operations command centre.
The force of the blasts shook buildings and rattled windows miles away. TV footage showed civilians outside the Iranian embassy loading casualties into police vehicles and ambulances. Stunned victims in bloody clothes fled the scene as smoke rose. —AP