[dan-b]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18420488

A wave of bombings across Iraq has killed 84 people and injured nearly 300 in the deadliest day in the country since US troops withdrew last year.

Ten locations in Baghdad were hit. Many of the dead were Shia pilgrims gathering for a religious festival.

Two blasts near a restaurant in Hilla, south of Baghdad, are thought to have targeted police and security forces.

There has been an upsurge in sectarian violence across Iraq in recent months as political tensions increase.

The first car bomb struck a procession of pilgrims in the town of Taji, north of Baghdad, as they made their way to a shrine for the anniversary of the death of Shia imam Moussa al-Kadhim.

There was then a series of four further blasts across the capital. One tore into a group of pilgrims as they rested at refreshment tents.

A man who witnessed one of the attacks in Baghdad said a car bomb had targeted pilgrims and had also hit people who were working in the city.

"People were slaughtered and killed right here. This wrecked car here belonged to a man who worked to earn his living, and another one belonged to a fuel seller. They could not find his body."

Another man, speaking from his hospital bed in Baghdad, explained what happened.

"A car bomb exploded suddenly. I fell on the ground, then so many people fell on me."

The restaurant that came under attack in Hilla, and where 21 people died, is said to be frequented by police.

A man who owns a restaurant nearby said a car loaded with explosives was detonated when a minibus packed with policemen stopped outside.

"It's heart-breaking. It's just sirens, and screams of wounded people," Maitham Sahib said.

Pictures from the scene showed the mangled remains of a restaurant, damaged cars and roads strewn with debris.
Sectarian tension

Three bombs exploded in Kirkuk, with one of them targeting the headquarters of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani. One person died and many were injured in that attack.

One man told Reuters: "I want to ask the government, why do they put party headquarters in residential areas and among the civilians? Bombs are still occurring , killing and hurting innocent people."

There are also reports of bombs in Mosul, Balad, and Karbala.

A taxi driver in Karbala told Reuters he was waiting for passengers when the blast took place.

"I flew up into the air, and then down to earth. I started to crawl and I saw people, wounded people scattered on the ground, some of them had their legs ripped off," said Kadhim Hashim.

Violence in Iraq has fallen since the sectarian killings of a few years ago, but militants still frequently attack security forces and civilians.

Extra security and checkpoints have been in place to cope with the thousands of pilgrims who are making their way into Baghdad.

The shrine in the city's Kadhimiya district is the focus of a festival which marks the anniversary of the death of imam Moussa al-Kadhim.

At least four people were killed and 30 injured in a mortar attack near the shrine on Sunday.

Wednesday has been one of the deadliest days of violence since US troops withdrew from Iraq last December.

A series of attacks in January killed 72 people in southern Iraq and Baghdad.

It is not yet known who is responsible for the attacks but Iraqi Sunni insurgents tied to al-Qaeda have attacked Shia targets in the past.

BBC world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan says sectarian tensions have been simmering since the US withdrawal, and this kind of violence is exactly what they had feared.

Shia Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has been trying to consolidate Shia power at the expense of Sunni and Kurdish voices, she says.

Mr Maliki is currently pursuing an arrest warrant for the Sunni Vice President, Tariq al-Hashemi.

He is accused of funding attacks on government and security officials during Iraq's bloody insurgency.

[RangaRang]

And this is democracy. Let's cast our votes. I bet anyone that someone just like Saddam will come about in Iraq in our lifetimes.

[RangaRang]

Or worse than Saddam, because psychopathic leaders thrive off of the desperation of their people.

[rob666]

Originally Posted by weeb ↗

And this is democracy. Let's cast our votes. I bet anyone that someone just like Saddam will come about in Iraq in our lifetimes.

Could even be worse than Saddam..... Its the nature of politics in Iraq that the most ruthless, brutal person will rule.
IMHO in 15 years there will be no Iraq, probably 3 separate nations.

[AnneLea]

Originally Posted by rob666 ↗

Could even be worse than Saddam..... Its the nature of politics in Iraq that the most ruthless, brutal person will rule.
IMHO in 15 years there will be no Iraq, probably 3 separate nations.

Heck, if it does split like that, they still wouldn't stop trying to dominate one another. There is no peace for people like that.

[rob666]

Originally Posted by AnneLea ↗

Heck, if it does split like that, they still wouldn't stop trying to dominate one another. There is no peace for people like that.

Eventually one of them will probably get nukes and that will be that... They've been at it for thousands of years, probably won't end in our lifetimes.

[RangaRang]

When Iran gets nukes, the Middle East will drastically change. Perhaps the Palestinians will finally get the two-state plan they deserve. Perhaps the Israelis and Iranians will finally talk. The Iranian government sees two ways to peace and reconciliation with the West. One is giving up the nuclear program... but then they fear the West will bug them about human rights (all while paying insurgents and agitators to overthrow them, hence crackdowns and harsh measures, turning into human rights abuse claims at the UN)... if they fix their human rights record, the West will complain about animal rights. So they fear making their country back down and lose its right to military and defensive power puts them at a weaker position where they can be taken advantage of by the West like they had been before the 1979 regime. The second path to peace they believe is a nuclear weapon capability, which would turn it from a game of two powerful bully nations (US, Israel) pushing around a bunch of needy, dependent, and weak nerds, into a game of a more equal standing where the nerds will have their voices heard. It's like one of the nerds going and learning Kung-Fu. Then this mutual respect will allow Iran to come back into the international scene without giving up its dignity, and soon the tight grip on the country will soften and people will be allowed things like free speech and press, less strict Islamic standards, etc, because there is no fear of foreign control or war.

[RangaRang]

And once this happens, other countries will follow suit and they'd be able to set the oil prices at a fair rate, to feed their own people, to engage in more trade, to improve and invent, to drop their guns and bombs and take up capitalism like every other country. This is an important moment in history.