IRAQ: DOZENS KILLED IN WAVE OF BOMBINGS ACROSS IRAQ

Dozens killed in wave of bombings across Iraq

By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

October 14, 2013 -- Updated 0539 GMT (1339 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Deadliest attack happens in Kut, where 17 people died when two car bombs went off
Nine people died in a Sunni neighborhood of Baghdad when shops were bombed
So far in 2013, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iraq

(CNN) -- A string of car and roadside bombings across Iraq on Sunday killed at least 44 people and wounded more than 140 others, police officials told CNN.

The deadliest attack occurred in Kut when two car bombs exploded in a busy commercial street. Seventeen people were killed and 49 others wounded, according to police officials in the city, which is about 100 miles south of Baghdad.
Smoke billows from the site of a car bomb explosion in the central Iraqi city of Kut on October 13.
Smoke billows from the site of a car bomb explosion in the central Iraqi city of Kut on October 13.

Among the other worst attacks:

-- In the Sunni neighborhood al-Amriya in Baghdad, two bombs exploded at shops killing nine people and wounding 21 others. Other deadly attacks were also carried out in other parts of Baghdad.

-- In the Shiite city of Diwaniya, two car bombs exploded in an outdoor market, killing eight people and wounding 17 others. Diwaniya is about 118 miles south of Baghdad

-- In Samara, a Sunni town north of Baghdad, two bombs exploded in a busy market, leaving four dead and 11 others wounded.

Other attacks were carried out throughout Iraq, including the southern city of Basra near the Persian Gulf.

So far in 2013, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iraq. Almost 1,000 of those deaths came in September.

Iraq has seen a sharp increase in friction between its Shiite and Sunni populations since April, when Iraqi security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government. The raid killed dozens and wounded more than 200.

Last week: Car bombings kill at least 28 in Baghdad

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