15/01/2014 15:11
Bomb attacks across Iraq kill at least 52 people
At least 52 people have been killed in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and a village to the north of the town of Baquba on Wednesday, RT reported.
The deadlier of the attacks occurred inside a funeral tent in the town of Buhruz, in the restive Diyala province in central Iraq, AFP reported Ahmed al-Azzawi, a doctor at the main hospital in the nearby provincial capital of Baquba as saying.
The blast claimed 18 lives and wounded a further 16 people.
The funeral was being held for a member of the Sahwa, a grouping of Sunni tribal militias who fought alongside the US military from late 2006 against Al-Qaeda forces.
The Sahwa, or Awakening, are often targeted by Sunni militants who view them as traitors.
Baqubah, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, is situated some 50 km (31 mi) to the northeast of Baghdad. During the US-led occupation of Iraq, Baquba was the scene of some of the heaviest militant activity, along with the Sunni strongholds of Fallujah, Ramadi, and Samarra.
Meanwhile, about half a dozen car bombs exploded across Baghdad on Wednesday, mostly in predominantly Shia districts, killing 34 people and wounding 71, according to police and medical officials.
The violence comes amid an ongoing showdown between the Iraqi forces and Sunni militants who seized the city of Fallujah more than two weeks ago, marking the latest challenge to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.
Fallujah is a city in the province of Al Anbar, situated about 69 kilometers (43 mi) west of Baghdad. Known as the “city of mosques,” it has become the scene of fierce fighting, as Sunni tribal militias battle against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is believed to have links to Al-Qaeda.
Last year marked the deadliest year in Iraq since 2008, with almost 9,000 deaths.