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Iraq Suicide Attack, Car Bombings Kill 41


Iraqi authorities say at least 41 people were killed Sunday and dozens more wounded in car bombings and suicide attacks in Baghdad and in Anbar province.

The deadliest attack occurred at a crowded cafe in a Shi'ite area of southwest Baghdad, where at least 35 people were killed and more than 40 others were hurt when a suicide bomber struck.

North of the capital, authorities say a car bomb targeted the home of a police officer, killing at least six people and wounding 10 others.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but the country's resurgent branch of al-Qaida is widely thought to be behind the surge in killings in recent months, as part of a push to destabilize the Shi'ite-led government.

United Nations data shows more than 5,000 people have been killed in militant attacks in Iraq since April, when Shi'ite-dominated security forces attacked a Sunni protest encampment north of Baghdad.

Analysts have warned that the surge in violence - the worst since 2008 - threatens the return of widespread sectarian killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
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