- 23 Nov 2006, 23:05
#8158
A wave of car bombs and mortar blasts in the Shia Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital has left more than 150 people dead and more than 200 injured.
It was the most devastating series of attacks in Baghdad in a single day since the US-led invasion in 2003.
At least three bombs exploded in crowded areas of Sadr City, the frequent target of Sunni insurgents.
Mortar attacks were later reported on a Sunni neighbourhood, as the authorities put Baghdad under an indefinite curfew.
Baghdad airport has also been closed to commercial flights until further notice.
Panic
The blasts brought panic to the streets of Sadr City, a densely populated, largely Shia neighbourhood, as distraught residents searched for family and friends.
The bombs exploded 15 minutes apart in a busy square, a food market and a street where people catch buses, timed to cause maximum damage, says the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Baghdad.
At about 1500 local time , a car exploded in the Jamila food market, where eyewitnesses told reporters that burned bodies and human flesh littered the ground.
The vegetable market had been packed with shoppers buying provisions ahead of the Friday holiday.
The first blast was followed by at least two others, also believed to be suicide car bomb attacks, at 15-minute intervals.
Several mortar rounds also hit Sadr City, police said.
"I was out shopping. As the bombs went off, everyone started running and shouting," news photographer Kareem al-Rubaie told Reuters new agency.
"I saw a car from a wedding party, covered in ribbons and flowers. It was burning. There were pools of blood on the street and children dead on the ground."
Curses
The number of casualties put major pressure on transport and hospitals.
The injured filled Sadr City's hospitals, with dozens lying bleeding in the corridors.
Angry residents and armed Shia militiamen came out onto the streets, hurling curses at Sunni Muslims, the Associated Press news agency reports.
The Iraqi health minister, Ali al-Shammari, accused Sunnis and loyalists of the former ruling Baath party of being behind the attacks.
"They were killed in cold blood by Sunni extremists and Baathist criminal remnants," he told the BBC Arabic Service.
Brazen attacks
Sadr City is largely controlled by the Mehdi Army, the best-known of the Shia Iraqi militias, which has been accused of carrying out many sectarian attacks.
Shortly after the blasts, a dozen mortars hit the Adhamiya district, a predominantly Sunni area, injuring 10 people, the interior ministry said.
In another part of Baghdad, five people were reported injured at the health ministry when about 30 gunmen opened fire on the compound.
The Iraqi authorities put Baghdad's seven million residents under curfew on Thursday evening, saying all people and vehicles must stay off the streets until further notice.
The daily attacks in Baghdad are now more brazen and more sectarian, says BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy.
On Wednesday, the United Nations said violent deaths among civilians hit a record high in October, with more than 3,700 people losing their lives - the majority in sectarian attacks.
It was the most devastating series of attacks in Baghdad in a single day since the US-led invasion in 2003.
At least three bombs exploded in crowded areas of Sadr City, the frequent target of Sunni insurgents.
Mortar attacks were later reported on a Sunni neighbourhood, as the authorities put Baghdad under an indefinite curfew.
Baghdad airport has also been closed to commercial flights until further notice.
Panic
The blasts brought panic to the streets of Sadr City, a densely populated, largely Shia neighbourhood, as distraught residents searched for family and friends.
The bombs exploded 15 minutes apart in a busy square, a food market and a street where people catch buses, timed to cause maximum damage, says the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Baghdad.
At about 1500 local time , a car exploded in the Jamila food market, where eyewitnesses told reporters that burned bodies and human flesh littered the ground.
The vegetable market had been packed with shoppers buying provisions ahead of the Friday holiday.
The first blast was followed by at least two others, also believed to be suicide car bomb attacks, at 15-minute intervals.
Several mortar rounds also hit Sadr City, police said.
"I was out shopping. As the bombs went off, everyone started running and shouting," news photographer Kareem al-Rubaie told Reuters new agency.
"I saw a car from a wedding party, covered in ribbons and flowers. It was burning. There were pools of blood on the street and children dead on the ground."
Curses
The number of casualties put major pressure on transport and hospitals.
The injured filled Sadr City's hospitals, with dozens lying bleeding in the corridors.
Angry residents and armed Shia militiamen came out onto the streets, hurling curses at Sunni Muslims, the Associated Press news agency reports.
The Iraqi health minister, Ali al-Shammari, accused Sunnis and loyalists of the former ruling Baath party of being behind the attacks.
"They were killed in cold blood by Sunni extremists and Baathist criminal remnants," he told the BBC Arabic Service.
Brazen attacks
Sadr City is largely controlled by the Mehdi Army, the best-known of the Shia Iraqi militias, which has been accused of carrying out many sectarian attacks.
Shortly after the blasts, a dozen mortars hit the Adhamiya district, a predominantly Sunni area, injuring 10 people, the interior ministry said.
In another part of Baghdad, five people were reported injured at the health ministry when about 30 gunmen opened fire on the compound.
The Iraqi authorities put Baghdad's seven million residents under curfew on Thursday evening, saying all people and vehicles must stay off the streets until further notice.
The daily attacks in Baghdad are now more brazen and more sectarian, says BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy.
On Wednesday, the United Nations said violent deaths among civilians hit a record high in October, with more than 3,700 people losing their lives - the majority in sectarian attacks.
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- By BatoolM