Latest attacks in Iraq kill 15, day after bombings killed 75

USPA News - Fifteen people were killed Tuesday and dozens more were wounded in a series of attacks across Iraq, just a day after a wave of bombings killed 75 people and injured hundreds at markets and Shi`ite neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The violence on Tuesday was centered around Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul.

The deadliest attack took place in Sadr City, a suburb district in eastern Baghdad, when an explosives-laden car blew up near a bus, killing seven people and injuring 34 others, including three traffic police officers. In the town of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, two people were killed and nine others were injured when a suicide bomber blew up his truck at a police checkpoint in the town`s main street. The explosion took place when police officers opened fire at the truck after the driver ignored orders to stop. Meanwhile, a police captain and four other police officers were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in the Tamooz area west of Mosul. One person was also killed and another injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) struck a police patrol south of Mosul. Tuesday`s attacks came just a day after a series of car bomb attacks shook Baghdad. Among the areas targeted were Nasr Square along Sadoun Street in central Baghdad, Habibiya in eastern Baghdad, Samara`e Mosque in the southeastern part of the city and the district of Kadhmiyah. Medical officials said the death toll from Monday`s attacks stood at 75 by Tuesday, but some 200 others were injured and the death toll is likely to increase as some were critically wounded. The explosions also damaged a number of local shops, other businesses and residential homes, and parked vehicles. Ongoing tension between Shia Muslims and Sunnis have continued to escalate in recent months, and sectarian violence is thought to be behind the attacks on Monday as they mostly targeted Shi`ite neighborhoods. Shia Muslims lead the country`s government, which has been accused by Sunnis of discriminating the minority. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday`s attacks, which follow scores of other attacks in recent months. Last week, over 70 people were killed in a series of attacks throughout the country, and two weeks ago, nearly 40 people were killed in an attack at a Sunni mosque in eastern Iraq. In the month of May alone, violent attacks are estimated to have killed over 450 people.