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A series of car bombings kill dozens in central and southern Iraq

Authors: The Middle East Channel from Foreign Policy Online Several deadly bombings hit Iraq as Shiite Muslims commemorated the birth of the 12 th imam. A truck bombing killed an estimated 29 people and injured up to 50 in a market near a Shiite mosque in the city of Diwaniya, in southern Iraq. In the central city of Karbala, two roadside car bombs at a vegetable market targeted Shiite pilgrims, killing up to five people and injuring at least 30 others. Additional blasts in the Sunni majority city of Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad, hit a military base, killing three people and injuring 15. No one has taken responsibility for the attacks. While violence has been down since its peak in 2006 through 2007 in Iraq, sectarian attacks have spiked in recent weeks. According to Reuters, attacks killed at least 237 people and wounded 603 in June, making it one of the most violent months since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. Syria Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has expressed regret for the downing of a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet on June 22. In an interview on Sunday with Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, Assad initially offered no apology, insisting the warplane was shot down over Syrian territory. However, while details of the incident are still under dispute, Assad spoke to Cumhuriyet on

Read more http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/07/03/a_series_of_car_bombings_kill_dozens_in_central_and_southern_iraq

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