Wave of Car Bombs Kills Dozens in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A deadly upsurge of violence in Iraq claimed more victims Monday when 15 car bombs killed at least 46 people and injured many more, according to security sources.

Ten of the bombings took place in Baghdad, mainly in Shiite neighborhoods. Targets included a hospital, a restaurant and markets. At least 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded, authorities said.

Officials in the Iraqi capital tightened security in the aftermath of the latest blasts, fearing that more devices could yet be detonated. There were long lines at vehicle checkpoints in the capital as the security services searched cars for explosives. Since the start of Ramadan on July 10, coordinated bombings and other attacks have intensified. That has revived fears that Iraq could be returning to the levels of sectarian violence seen in the last decade when the country moved to the brink of civil war following the American-led invasion in 2003.

In Kut, southeast of Baghdad, two car bombs exploded near a bus station leaving 6 people dead and about 20 others injured, according to a medical source.

Two car bombs also detonated in Basra, in southern Iraq, killing at least 3 people near a market and wounding 14 others, a police source said. And in Muthanna Province, another car bomb exploded at a market in the city of Smawa, killing 6 people and injuring 19, according to a police source.

There was also violence also Tikrit, north of Baghdad, where gunmen blew up a house belonging to an Iraqi Army officer, killing one person and injuring two.

While the violence is below levels seen during the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, bombings remain common and as many as 700 people are believed to have been killed so far this month.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks on Monday but in the past, coordinated bombings against Shiites have been orchestrated by Al Qaeda's Iraq branch.

Nine days ago Baghdad was hit by an explosion in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karada which the police said had killed 9 people and wounded 17. That was part of a surge of violence that killed at least 46 people inside and outside the capital.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Baghdad operations, Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir al-Shammari said at a news conference that the security forces had recaptured 349 prisoners of around 800 who escaped from Abu Ghraib prison earlier this month.

Yasir Ghazi contributed reporting from Baghdad, and Stephen Castle from London.