Two separate bomb blasts claimed 64 lives in Baghdad on Friday and injured more than 100 others — a tragic reminder of the serious and ongoing challenge of containing large-scale violence in Iraq’s volatile capital city.


BBC:

A ceasefire announced in August by the Mehdi Army militia of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, as well as the emergence of local Sunni militia armed by the US military that took on al-Qaeda in Iraq, have also contributed to the sense of security.

But that renewed confidence could be shattered by Friday’s deadly bombings, the worst to hit the Iraqi capital since three car bombs killed 80 people last 1 August.

The first device was detonated by a female suicide bomber at around 1020 local time (0720GMT) in the popular Ghazil animal market, killing at least 46 people and injuring a further 80.

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