Baghdad Bomb Attacks Kill 50

A string of at least seven bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday killed 50 people, the latest in a series of attacks that have claimed about 120 lives in the Iraqi capital over the last five days, sparking concern that the level of violence and sectarian unrest will rival the bloody months before the surge of 2007.

AP via Google News:

For two terrifying hours on a warm, sunny Tuesday morning, at least seven bombs rocked a broad swath of Baghdad. In a new tactic, several bombs were planted inside empty apartments after renters offered high prices for the properties, the government said.

The explosions reduced one building to rubble, knocked out windows and doors and ripped off facades. People rushed to the blast sites, digging through the rubble with their hands to find loved ones.

“Cars began to collide with one another in the street,” said Ali Hussein, a 22-year-old college student who was riding the bus to school when one of the bombs went off. “We saw a cloud of fire and black smoke.”

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AP / Karim Kadim

Rescuers search for survivors at the scene of a bomb attack in central Baghdad on Tuesday.