Iraq attacks and bombings on Shias kill 113 in three days

A bombing on Baghdad’s southern outskirts killed seven people on Wednesday, the latest in a three-day wave of bloodshed targeting Shia Muslims that has left 113 dead amid fears Iraq is slipping back into all-out sectarian war. 

The surge in violence also wounded more than 300 others, and comes as the country grapples with a protracted political stand-off and months of anti-government protests, with analysts warning the deadlock is unlikely to be resolved at least until general elections due next year. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, but Sunni militants linked to al-Qaida often target Shias, whom they regard as apostates. 

In the latest attack, a bomb went off in the Nahrawan area of southeast Baghdad on Wednesday morning, killing seven people and wounding at least 14 others, security and medical sources said. 

It came after a wave of bombings and shootings across Iraq a day earlier killed 57, with 49 others having died in violence on Monday. According to one lawmaker, the situation is unlikely to get any better as Iraq heads into Ramadan, traditionally a month when insurgents look to step up their attacks. ‘Nothing will change,’ Hassan Jihad, a Kurdish MP on parliament’s security and defence committee, told media.