Baghdad reels from bomb onslaught

The attacks are the latest in a relentless wave of killing that has left thousands dead since April, marking the country’s worst spate of bloodshed since 2008.

Police say insurgents set off bombs in at least 10 different parts of the capital early yesterday.

Insurgents deployed explosives-laden cars, bombs and suicide bombers in car parks, outdoor markets and restaurants in predominantly Shiite Muslim areas, according to officials. The blasts, which came in quick succession, targeted residents out shopping and on their way to work.

The attacks bore the hallmarks of the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida. It frequently targets Shiites, which it considers heretics, and employs co-ordinated bombings in an attempt to incite sectarian strife.

The northern suburb of Kazimiyah, home to a prominent, gold-domed Shiite shrine, was the worst hit.