Iraqis gather at scene of a bomb attack in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, May 17, 2013.
Bombs Targeting Iraqi Sunnis Kill Scores
A series of bomb attacks has targeted Sunnis in Iraq, killing at least 70 people and increasing fears of renewed sectarian conflict.
The deadliest blast Friday struck Sunni worshippers who were leaving a mosque in Baquba, just north of Baghdad, and was followed by a second explosion as people gathered to help the wounded. At least 41 people were killed in the twin bombings.
The aftermath of a car bomb in Sadr City, Baghdad, May 16, 2013.
Later in the day, a roadside bomb exploded during a Sunni funeral procession in Madain, south of Baghdad, killing eight people.
In Baghdad, a bomb went off in the mainly Sunni neighborhood of Amariyah, killing at least 19 people.
And a bomb went off in a cafe in the city of Fallujah, killing two people.
Friday's attacks follow a wave of bombings in Iraq this week that left more than 100 people dead.
On Thursday, 25 people were killed in separate car bombings in Shi'ite neighborhoods of Baghdad and Kirkuk. And at least 33 were killed on Wednesday in bombings in the capital and other cities.
Prime Minister Nouri-al-Maliki is blaming the deaths on rising sectarian violence that has plagued the country since security forces raided a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk last month.
Authorities say the raid raised sectarian tensions to their highest point since the pullout of U.S. troops in late 2011.
The United Nations is calling the last month the deadliest in Iraq since June 2008, when more than 700 people were killed.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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