ArsipBerita.com

Recent months have seen a resurgence in sectarian violence in Iraq

A string of bomb attacks and shootings in Baghdad and north of the capital has killed at least 82 people, say security and medical officials.

Many of those killed were security forces – who appear to have been a prime target, correspondents say.

One of the worst-hit places was Taji, a Sunni neighbourhood some 20km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, where at least 24 people were killed.

At least 144 people were wounded on one of the bloodiest days of the year.

Deadly car bombings hit Baghdad, and a government building in the Shia district of Sadr city was attacked.

At least seven car bombs hit the northern oil city of Kirkuk.

Dhuluiya, Saadiya, Khan Beni-Saad, Tuz Khurmatu and Dibis were also said to have suffered attacks.

‘Why?’

The security forces suffered badly in Monday's attacks, with several soldiers killed in a single brazen attack on a base in Salaheddin province.

Police checkpoints were hit by car bombs, army bases were struck by mortar fire, and one policeman was even attacked in his home, says the BBC's Rami Ruhayem in Baghdad.

In Taji, a string of five or six explosions killed at least 14 people. When police arrived on the scene to help, another explosion – according to one report, a suicide bomber – struck, killing 10 officers.

Resident Ali Hussein lamented the number of ordinary people killed in Taji.

"What is the guilt of these poor people?" asked resident Ali Hussein.

"They are working to earn a living. It is a poor market and people were here to shop in this market when the blast happened. Why did this happen?"

It is the deadliest day in Iraq since 13 June, when another wave of bombings killed 84 people and injured nearly 300.

On Sunday bombings south of the capital killed at least 17.

Violence dipped in Iraq following the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but sectarian violence has returned across the country in recent months amid worsening political tensions.

At least 237 people were killed during June, making it one of the bloodiest months since US troops withdrew in December.