BAGHDAD — A wave of bombings ripped across Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing at least 69 people and injuring almost 200 in the worst violence Iraq has seen for months. The apparently coordinated attacks left a bloodbath just days after American forces left the country.
The blasts also came on the heels of a political crisis between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite factions that erupted this weekend.
The political spat has raised fears that Iraq’s sectarian wounds will be reopened during a fragile time when Iraq is finally navigating its own political future without U.S. military support.
The string of explosions will ratchet up tensions at a time when many Iraqis are already worried about security. If continued, it could lead to the same type of tit-for-tat attacks that characterized the insurgency years ago.
At least 14 blasts went off in the morning and there were two more in the evening.