Car bombs kill 31 as Iraqi forces struggle in wake of US pull-out

A pair of car bombs tore through two different Baghdad neighbourhoods, killing at least 31 people and breaking what has been a period of relative calm since the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Yesterday's blasts were the worst to strike the Iraqi capital since the number of American troops in the country dropped below 50,000 and the US declared a formal end to combat operations .

The violence underlines the challenges Iraqi security forces face trying to stabilise Baghdad and Iraq's police and military assume responsibility for protecting the capital.

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The deadliest attack took place in north Baghdad's Kazimiyah neighbourhood when a car bomb detonated near a branch office of the National Security Ministry in Adan square, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 70, police and hospital officials said.

"It was a big explosion and dust and smoke filled my house," said Abu Shahad, who lives about 200 yards from the blast site. "I went out and saw a big black cloud hanging over the area where the bomb exploded, and I rushed there because I have relatives living there."

He said his cousin and her child were killed and another cousin was wounded.

Early yesterday, two people in a minibus were killed when a roadside bomb went off in the Shula neighbourhood of northwestern Baghdad

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Then least another 10 people were killed in suicide car bombing in western Baghdad's affluent Mansour neighbourhood. Another 10 people were wounded.

The explosion targeted a crowded commercial area near an AsiaCell store, one of Iraq's biggest mobile phone providers.

An eyewitness working said he heard a huge explosion that shattered windows in his office and brought a section of the ceiling down on one customer.

"Dust and black smoke covered the area and I thought that the car bomb exploded near our office," said the man, who identified himself as Abu Haidar. He said he saw a lot of wounded people on the street and helped evacuate a child who had shrapnel wounds in his back.

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He added: "I blame this tragedy only on the government officials who are competing for positions and letting us be victims of these bombings."

Iraq has gone more than six months now without a new government since inconclusive parliamentary elections in March.

Many Iraqis complain that the political deadlock has created a power vacuum that militants have successfully exploited.

Security officials could be seen roaming the blast site in Mansour as ambulances and other vehicles blocked the road leading to the checkpoint near a branch office of the Ministry of National Security.

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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.

The violence comes nearly three weeks after the number of American soldiers in Iraq fell below 50,000 and President Barack Obama declared an official end to US combat operations in the country.

The remaining US troops primarily train and assist Iraqi security forces, although they have continued to engage militants. Last week, 12 people were killed when insurgents attacked a military command centre in central Baghdad and drew US forces into a firefight.

Insurgents have intensified their strikes over the summer, dispatching suicide bombers and detonating car bombs around the capital, targeting Iraqi security forces and government institutions despite police and army checkpoints.