BAGHDAD — At least 19 people were killed Tuesday as insurgents targeted day laborers, government workers and an anti-terrorism police captain amid a continuing surge of violence, according to officials.
At least 80 people were injured, the officials said.
In the attack on the captain, gunmen stormed the home of Hassan Abdulla al-Timimi in the Abu Ghraib area, west of Baghdad, killing him, his wife and their three children, said Col. Sabah al-Falahi, a local police commander. After leaving the house, the insurgents set off two explosions, injuring four neighbors, Falahi said.
The attacks come amid a political crisis that has virtually paralyzed the government in the wake of the U.S. troop departure last month.
Analysts contend that insurgents are taking advantage of the chaos to try to exacerbate sectarian strife between Shiite and Sunni extremists. In recent weeks, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, the Islamic State of Iraq, has asserted responsibility for at least 37 attacks, saying it was protesting the detention of Sunnis in Shiite-controlled jails.
In the 30 days after U.S. troops left, at least 327 people were killed in bombings and assassinations, officials say.
