Baghdad, Iraq – A car bomb exploded Tuesday at an outdoor market in a Shiite area of Baghdad, killing 25 people and wounding at least 60 – the deadliest in a string of attacks that stoked sectarian tension in and around the capital.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said today that two Marines were killed in combat operations in Anbar province. The Marines, who died Tuesday, were assigned to Multinational Forces-West, which is responsible for the sprawling, Sunni-dominated province, the statement added without giving more details.
The market blast occurred in Amil, a neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad where Sunni-Shiite tension is running high.
After the blast, survivors ran through the streets hauling buckets and pots of water to try to put out fires in shops that were shattered by the bomb. Volunteers tore through the rubble, searching for survivors.
Sami Hussein, 25, was heading to the market with her 5-year- old son when she heard the explosion, “followed by gray and black smoke, which engulfed the market and made me to fall on the ground.” She suffered shrapnel wounds in her face and legs.
“I lost my son, and have no idea about his fate,” she said.
Medical officials at the hospital said he died in the blast.
No group claimed responsibility for the blast. But U.S. officials believe Sunni extremists are stepping up car bombings, especially against Shiite civilians, to inflame sectarian hatred and undermine public confidence in government security forces.
There were other signs Tuesday that Sunni-Shiite tensions are again rising.
In north Baghdad, gunmen wearing army uniforms stopped a bus carrying college students to a Shiite neighborhood, entered the vehicle and sprayed the passengers with gunfire, police said. Eight students were killed and two were wounded.
At another fake checkpoint near Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, gunmen killed six people from one family – a woman, her 5-year-old son and four men – and stole their car, police said. It was unclear whether the victims were Sunnis or Shiites.
In all, at least 100 Iraqis were killed or found dead nationwide Tuesday, according to police. They included 33 people found shot execution-style – presumably by sectarian death squads – and their bodies scattered across Baghdad.
