Multiple bomb attacks kill 16, injure dozens in Baghdad

A string of bomb attacks across Baghdad has left at least 16 people dead and dozens injured as violence once more escalates in the Iraqi capital after weeks of relative calm. Multiple xplosions rattled across Baghdad on Thursday morning with the deadliest attack reported in the northern neighborhood of Shuala, AFP reported. The incident in Shuala occurred when a car bomb exploded ripping through nearby shops and buildings, killing at least 13 people and injuring 32. Separate bomb attacks also hit al-Amriyah, Ghazaliyah and Yarmuk neighborhoods in the west of Baghdad, and Dora and Saidiyah in the south. In al-Amriyah region, a number of roadside bombs went off killing two people and wounding at least seven. Meanwhile, a car bomb blast took place near the home of an advisor to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Yarmuk. The official escaped the explosion which killed one passerby. The other attacks reportedly targeted the homes of policemen in western Baghdad, and a blast hit a police patrol in the southern Dora neighborhood injuring a number of people. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks which constitute the worst outbreak of violence in the capital since April. On April 19, bomb attacks claimed by al-Qaeda killed 17 and wounded 106 in and around the capital, with the month’s total death toll put at 126, according to official figures.