At least 40 Iraqis killed in blasts in Baghdad
At least 40 people were killed in a series of explosions Thursday in two Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad in some of the worst violence to hit the capital in months.
Early Thursday evening, three bombs exploded outside a Shiite mosque, near outdoor stalls at a market in the Shurta neighborhood of southwest Baghdad. At least 34 people were killed and another 82 people were wounded, police said.
“I was drinking juice from a shop together with some of my friends when the first explosion happened,” said Ahmed Dandar, 25, who suffered injuries to his arm and shoulders. “It was near a mosque as worshippers were entering. We saw a ball of fire and people started to run.”
A few hours later, six people were killed and 16 wounded when a car bomb exploded near a market in southeast Baghdad, in the Shiite neighborhood of Abu Disheer. Both Shurta and Abu Disheer saw violence during the country’s sectarian war.
Salman is a Times staff writer.
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