Car bombs kill 33 in central and southern Iraq

A car bomb in a busy market in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniya killed at least 25 people and wounded 40 others on Tuesday, a provincial council official said.

Eight more people have also been killed and 45 wounded in a series of blasts in central Iraq, officials said.

Local lawmaker Mohammed al-Moussawi said two cars exploded at a vegetable market early Tuesday in the Shiite city of Karbala, killing five people and wounding 30.

The 7:00 am (0400 GMT) attack struck the village of Freyha, 10 kilometers (six miles) east of Karbala, ahead of commemoration ceremonies on Friday for the birth of a key figure in Shiite Islam. Friday’s ceremonies are to mark the birth of the 12th imam.

A medical official in Karbala, earlier, speaking on condition of anonymity, put the toll at four dead and 33 wounded.

Karbala is frequented by Shiite pilgrims as it is the site of shrines to Imam Hussein and his half-brother Abbas, both central figures to Shiite Islam.

Hours later, two bombs exploded in the Sunni city of Taji, killing three people and wounding 15.

A policeman was among the dead, said security and health officials who confirmed the casualties but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release the information.

Taji is home to a military base and is 20 kilometers north of Baghdad.
The violence comes amid a spike in attacks in Iraq, with the country suffering a wave of unrest in June that left at least 282 people dead according to an AFP tally, although government figures said 131 Iraqis died.

While violence in Iraq has declined dramatically since its peak in 2006-2007, attacks remain common across the country.