BAGHDAD — At least nine explosions tore through predominantly Shiite Muslim areas in and around Baghdad Sunday, hitting crowded market places, commercial districts and car repair shops in a string of bombings that killed at least 33 people, officials said.
The attacks are part of a wave of violence that has washed across Iraq since a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in April. Since then, the bloodshed in the country has reached heights unseen since the country teetered on the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's attacks, but insurgent groups frequently target civilians in markets, cafes and commercial streets in Shiite areas in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and stir up Iraq's already simmering sectarian tensions.
The deadliest attack took place in the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Baiyaa, where a car bomb exploded inside an auto shop, killing seven people and wounding 14 others, police said.
