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Bombs kill at least 72 in Iraq
Bomb attacks in mainly Shi'ite Muslim areas of Iraq kill at least 72 people and many more are wounded on Thursday.
The scene of a roadside bomb targeting Shiite pilgrims in southern Iraq
At least 72 people were killed Thursday in a series of attacks on Shiites in Iraq, marking the deadliest day since U.S. troops withdrew last month. The new wave of violence is raising worries about the country's sharp sectarian divisions.
Thursday's attacks appeared to be the worst day of violence in the country in more than a year. Local authorities blamed al-Qaeda in Iraq, but no militant organization asserted responsibility for the blasts.
The attacks wounded at least 147 people and included explosions in two Shiite neighbourhoods in Bagdad and a suicide bombing next to a large group of Shiites on a pilgrimage in southern Iraq. The violence occurred against the backdrop of a deepening political standoff between the country's Shiite and Sunni leaders.
A majority of the Sunni-supported Iraqiya political bloc recently boycotted parliamentary proceedings. Members of the bloc accuse Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, of trying to dissolve a political framework established under U.S. guidance to ensure power-sharing among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
