Bombs targeting Shi'ites kill at least 100, wound 156 in Baghdad

Scene in Baghdad today

Bombings and a mortar attack struck Shiite targets in Baghdad and north of the capital on Monday, killing at least 100 people and wounding scores in a further sign of what appeared to be a renewed campaign of Sunni insurgent violence.

The U.S. military also reported the deaths of two Marines, raising the two-day death toll to 27 in a particularly bloody weekend for American forces in Iraq.

Monday's first blast, a parked car bomb, tore through stalls of vendors peddling DVDs and secondhand clothes shortly after noon in the Bab al-Sharqi market between Tayaran and Tahrir squares - one of the busiest parts of Baghdad. Seconds later, a suicide car bomber drove into the crowd.

Police estimated that each car was loaded with nearly 100 kilograms 220 pounds of explosives.

Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili said at least 88 people were killed and 156 were wounded.

The explosions left body parts strewn on the bloodstained pavement as black smoke rose into the sky. Police sealed off the area as ambulances rushed to the scene.

Survivors were taken to nearby al-Kindi Hospital where emergency personnel worked feverishly over the bloodied and badly wounded.

Bodies covered in blue and white cloth littered the outdoor courtyard at the hospital. Family members and friends were at the side of the dead, screaming in grief and crying out oaths.

Read the rest at the Guardian