BAGHDAD — Iraqi insurgents unleashed a string of attacks primarily targeting the country’s Shiite community yesterday, leaving at least 40 dead.
Authorities had sought to promote a sense of stability by preventing attacks during the four-day Eid al-Adha celebrations, when people are off work and families gather in public places.
One bomb exploded near playground equipment that had been set up for the holiday in a market on the capital’s outskirts in the easternneighborhood of Bawiya. Police officials said eight people were killed, including four children.
Another 24 people, including children, were wounded, they added.The deadliest attacks struck in Sadr City, where a car packed with explosives blew up near a market, killing 12 people. Half an hour later, a second car bomb killed 10 more.