41 killed as Iraqis mark end to bloody Ramadan

August 11, 2013 00:21

Car bombs targeting cafes and markets in Baghdad were among a series of attacks that killed 41 people today as Iraqis marked the end of their bloodiest Ramadan in years.

The blasts were the latest in spiralling violence that authorities have failed to stem, with bloodshed at its worst since 2008 amid worries of a return to the all-out sectarian war that blighted Iraq years ago.

The latest violence comes just weeks after massive assaults, claimed by Al Qaeda's front group in Iraq, on prisons near Baghdad that freed hundreds of militants, with analysts warning of a resulting spike in unrest.

They also come as security officials trumpet a vast weeks-long security operation north of Baghdad that they say has led to the killing and capturing of numerous militants.

A series of car bombs struck eight different neighbourhoods -- predominantly Sunni, Shiite and confessionally mixed -- in apparently coordinated strikes as Iraqis marked the Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

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