At least 74 people were killed on Thursday in a string of bombings in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, security and health officials said. It was the first large-scale attack after a crisis between Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and two Sunni Muslim political rivals erupted this week following the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
More than 180 people were wounded in the apparently co-ordinated attacks, which involved 13 car bombs and roadside explosives that went off during the morning rush hour. Smoke billowed over the mainly Shia Karrada district and the Sunni neighbourhood of Al Azamiyeh in Baghdad. While no one had yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, both Sunni and Shia extremist groups have been blamed for such attacks in the past.
Security forces went on high alert, fearing more attacks. Parliament was to hold an emergency meeting Friday to discuss the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, which plunged into crisis this week when al-Maliki issued an arrest warrant against his Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, on charges of plotting bombing attacks. Al-Hashemi, the country's highest Sunni official, has dismissed the terrorism charges against him as "fabricated." He remains in the semi-autonomous Kurdish north and has said he would only appear in court there where he will be treated "justly."
Al-Maliki has also asked parliament to sack his deputy, Saleh al-Mutlaq, who compared the Shiite premier to Saddam Hussein. Both al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq belong to the Iraqiya party, which has strong Sunni support and is a junior partner in Maliki's government.
Al-Maliki's moves were interpreted by the Sunni minority as an attempt to consolidate Shiite control of the government after the US withdrawal. The Sunni minority has been feeling marginalized since the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Al-Malaki urged Kurdish authorities on Wednesday to hand over al-Hashemi to face trial in Baghdad for his alleged involvement in the plotting of bombing attacks near parliament in November. Al-Maliki claims the bombings were intended to target him. Also on Thursday, a bodyguard and two relatives of al-Hashemi were arrested on terrorism charges, according to media reports.