A wave of car bombs in southern Iraq
has killed 30 people as the country grapples with a spike in violence
and prolonged political deadlock, sparking fears of a sectarian war.
A
total of seven vehicles rigged with explosives went off on Sunday in
five cities south of Baghdad, the capital, during morning rush hour,
leaving 56 people wounded in primarily Shia Muslim areas of Iraq.
No
group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni
groups linked to al-Qaeda frequently target Shias, whom they regard as
apostates, in coordinated attacks.
Car bombs went off in Kut, Aziziyah, Mahmudiyah, Nasiriyah and Basra, officials said.
In
Kut, the provincial capital of Wasit located 160km south of Baghdad, a
car bomb exploded outside a restaurant in an industrial area packed with
vehicle repair garages, killing seven people and wounding 15.
Another car bomb in nearby Aziziyah, in the town's main marketplace and near a Shia mosque, killed five and wounded 10.
Twin
blasts in the southern port city of Basra, meanwhile, killed five
people, including a bomb disposal expert looking to defuse one of the
rigged vehicles.
At least three others were killed in bombings in Nasiriyah and Mahmudiyah.
The
violence was the latest in a sharp rise in attacks nationwide, with
last month registering the highest death toll since 2008, sparking fears
of a return to the all-out sectarian war that blighted Iraq in 2006 and
2007.
There has been a heightened level of unrest since the
beginning of the year, coinciding with rising discontent among the Sunni
Arab minority that erupted into protests in late December.
Analysts
say a lack of effort by the Shia-led authorities to address the
underlying causes of the demonstrations has given armed groups fuel and
room to manoeuvre to carry out their activities.
The outgoing UN envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler has warned the violence is "ready to explode".
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