The bloodiest of many attacks and bombings occurred at a vegetable market in northeastern Iraq when a truck bomb exploded, killing 48 people, medical examiners on the scene confirmed, according to the Associated Press.
According to witnesses, a man parked a truck containing the bomb in the vegetable market, got out of the vehicle and told workers to unload the truck before walking away, the AP reported. Beside the 48 dead, 45 were reported wounded, officials said.
The explosion occurred in Sadiyah, about 90 miles from Baghdad, and was only one of many attacks a day after coordinated bombings hit mainly Shiite areas in commercial areas in Baghdad, the AP reported. The attacks killed 35 people and wounded 120.
Numerous other attacks occurred on Thursday: in Taji, north of Baghdad, a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt killed six soldiers and wounded 12, officials have confirmed, the AP reported.
In the northern area of Baghdad called Karsa an army officer's son was killed due to a bomb attached to his car, but the officer was not present. The explosion wounded another five pedestrians, the AP reported.
In the neighborhood of Baya in southeastern Baghdad, a supermarket was gunned down, killing two brothers who owned it and wounded two shoppers, while in Amiriyah, a neighborhood west of Baghdad, a car bomb followed by two explosions killed eight civilians and wounded another 15.
Officials believe the attacks are linked to al-Qaeda's local Sunni rebels due to the suicide bombers, who view Shi'ites as heretics, which are a popular tactic from the group but no official claim of responsibility has been made, according to the AP.
According to the AP, Thursday's attacks are the bloodiest since the country almost entered civil war in 2006, with a total of 5,500 people killed with 292 of those deaths occurring this month, according to a report by the United Nations.
