At least 31 people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a Baghdad marketplace today, the latest attack on a mainly Shia neighbourhood since a political crisis erupted in December.
The bomber exploded his vehicle near a passing Shia funeral procession by a small street market in the Zaafaraniya neighbourhood, police officials and sources at three hospitals said. At least 60 people were injured.
Iraqi authorities blame Sunni Islamist insurgents for attacks targeting Shias in an attempt to stoke the kind of sectarian violence in 2006-2007 which killed tens of thousands.
"The suicide car bomber failed to arrive at the Zaafaraniya police station so he blew himself up close to shops and the market," said an official at the office of Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi.
The funeral was for a Shia businessman who was killed by gunmen in Baghdad yesterday, police said.
More than 320 people have been killed in attacks in Iraq since the start of the year alone and nearly 800 more wounded - more than double last year's figure for violent deaths in January, according to government figures.
Turmoil in Iraq has wider consequences in a region warily watching neighbouring Syria's increasingly sectarian crisis, and where Sunni Gulf Arab nations and Turkey are trying to counter the influence of Shia Iran.
Violence has eased since the heights of sectarian strife unleashed by the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein. But Iraqi forces are still battling Sunni insurgents tied to al-Qaeda, and rival Shia militias.
The current crisis was triggered when Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki's government sought the arrest of a Sunni vice president and asked parliament to remove a Sunni deputy prime minister just after the last US troops left Iraq on December 128th.
Mr Maliki, a Shia, says his moves against Sunni leaders were legal decisions and not politically motivated. But many Sunnis, already feeling alienated, worry measures are part of a drive by Mr Maliki to consolidate his power at their expense.
Reuters