Car bombs hit Shiite pilgrims as Iraq unrest kills 66
December 17, 2013  01:56
Car bombs ripped through Shiite pilgrims near Baghdad while militants attacked a city council headquarters and a police station, as Iraq-wide violence killed at least 66 people today, officials said. 

The killing of the pilgrims underscored the danger of sectarian violence in Iraq, while the attacks on the city council and police station in Salaheddin province showed the impunity with which militants can strike even targets that should be highly secure. 

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a period of brutal sectarian killings, and has raised fears it is slipping back into all-out conflict.

In the Rashid area south of Baghdad, two car bombs targeted Shiite pilgrims, killing at least 22 people and wounding at least 52, security and medical officials said. Sunni militants including those linked to Al-Qaeda frequently target members of Iraq's Shiite majority, whom they consider to be apostates.
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