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Car Bombings, Shootings Kill 46 in Iraq


Residents pass by a damaged vehicle a day after a bomb attack in central Baquba, 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Aug. 25, 2013.
Residents pass by a damaged vehicle a day after a bomb attack in central Baquba, 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Aug. 25, 2013.
Sectarian violence struck Iraq Sunday with car bombings and shootings leaving at least 46 people dead and more than 100 wounded.

The city of Baqouba was one of the hardest-hit areas. Car bombs blew up in a residential neighborhood and at a wedding.

Bombs also caused casualities in and around Baghdad, killing about 16 people.

Elsewhere, militants ambushed a carload of Iraqi soldiers, killing five.

No one has claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks. But tension between Iraq's minority Sunnis and the ruling Shi'ites has been simmering since police cracked down on Sunni protesters in April.

The Sunnis accuse the government of marginalizing them politically and ignoring their demands.

United Nations officials say the violence has killed thousands and fear Iraq could be heading toward civil war.
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