Ongoing Attacks in Iraq Kill 7         05/21 07:11

   BAGHDAD (AP) -- New attacks in Iraq killed seven people and wounded dozens 
on Tuesday, officials said, after a bloody day that claimed more than 100 lives 
across the country.

   A suicide bomber set off his explosives-laden vest at a military checkpoint 
in the town of Tarmiyah, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad. The blast 
was followed by militants who opened fire at the Iraqi troops, killing three 
soldiers and wounding nine, a police official said.

   A medical official confirmed the causality figures. Both officials spoke on 
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

   Meanwhile, in the northern city of Tuz Khormato, two parked car bombs went 
off simultaneously, killing three civilians and wounding 38 people, said Mayor 
Shalal Abdool. The town is about 200 kilometers (130 miles) north of the Iraqi 
capital.

   And in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, three bombs 
exploded back-to-back at a sheep market, killing one person and wounding 25, 
police Col. Taha Salaheddin said.

   The attacks came as authorities raised the death toll from Monday's wave of 
bloodshed --- a series of blitz attacks stretching from north of Baghdad to the 
southern city of Basra and targeting bus stops, open-air markets and rush-hour 
crows --- to 113 from 95, after many of the wounded died of their injuries.

   No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but such 
systematic carnage carries the hallmarks of the two sides that brought nearly 
nonstop chaos to Iraq for years: Sunni insurgents, including al-Qaida's branch 
in Iraq, and Shiite militias defending their newfound power after Saddam 
Hussein's fall.

   The latest spiral of violence, which targeted both Sunni and Shiite 
communities, has increased fears that Iraq is sliding back to the brink of 
civil war.

   Hours after Monday's stunning bombings, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki 
accused militant groups of trying to exploit Iraq's political instability and 
vowed to resist attempts to "bring back the atmosphere of the sectarian war."

   Sectarian tensions have been worsening since Iraq's minority Sunnis began 
expanding protests over what they say is mistreatment at the hands of the 
Shiite-led government.

   Many Sunnis contend that much of the country's current turmoil is rooted in 
the policies of al-Maliki's government, which they accuse of feeding sectarian 
tension by becoming more aggressive toward Sunnis after the U.S. military 
withdrawal in December 2011.

   Mass demonstrations by Sunnis, which began in December, have largely been 
peaceful. However, the number of attacks rose sharply after a deadly security 
crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on April 23.


(KA)