69 dead in Iraq bombings aimed at minority

BAGHDAD -- A wave of 16 bombings ripped across Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 69 people in the worst violence in Iraq for months. The apparently coordinated attacks struck days after the last American forces left the country and in the midst of a major government crisis between Shia and Sunni politicians that has sent sectarian tensions soaring.

The bombings may be linked more to the U.S. withdrawal than the political crisis, but the developments heighten fears of a new round of Shia-Sunni sectarian bloodshed like the one a few years ago that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war.

At least 14 blasts went off in the morning and there were two more in the evening. Figures gathered from Iraqi health and police officials across the city put the death toll at 69, and 169 injured.

Though there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the bombings bore all the hallmarks of al-Qaida's Sunni insurgents. Most appeared to hit Shia neighborhoods, although some Sunni areas were also targeted. In all, 11 neighborhoods were hit by either car bombs, roadside blasts or sticky bombs attached to cars. There was at least one suicide bombing and the blasts occurred over several hours.

Coordinated campaigns such as this generally take weeks to plan, and could have been timed to coincide with the end of the American military presence in Iraq, possibly to undercut U.S. claims that the military is leaving behind a stable and safe Iraq.

In Washington, the White House condemned the bombings and said attempts to derail progress in Iraq will fail. Press secretary Jay Carney said the attacks serve no agenda "other than murder and hatred."