64 killed in Iraq blasts
Baghdad, Nov. 3: At least 64 people were killed and 360 wounded from a series of attacks that targeted mostly Shiite neighbourhoods throughout the Iraqi capital overnight.
A series of car bombings, suicide bombings, mortar attacks and explosions from improvised devices rocked Baghdad and forced many residents to stay in doors all evening.
The minister of health, Mr Saleh al-Hasnawi Vitsrih, said that those injured from the evening's blasts continued to make their way to hospitals on Wednesday for treatment.
The blasts — around 21 in all — targeted cafes, restaurants and popular markets. Eleven of them were car bombs and attacks by suicide bombers.
The streets were gridlocked due to stringent inspections, forcing many Iraqis to walk to work.
Iraqi Christians meanwhile faced further violent attacks after Al Qaida listed them as “legitimate targets.”
“All Christian centres, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the mujahedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can reach them,” said a statement by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the local branch of Osama bin Laden’s jihadist network.
The group had claimed responsibility for a hostage drama at a Baghdad cathedral on Sunday which ended in the deaths of 46 worshippers.
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