BAGHDAD (AP) - Bombs struck two Sunni towns at sundown today just as Iraqis were preparing to break their holy day's fast, killing 18 and wounding more than 50, officials said. Two earlier bomb blasts killed a policeman and wounded dozens of people.
The multiple bomb attacks showed that deadly violence is still common and in some places even worsening in Iraq, seven months after the U.S. pulled its last troops out of the country. Most of the attacks bear the hallmarks of Sunni Muslim insurgents linked to al-Qaida, targeting Shiites and their holy sites as well as security forces working for the Shiite-led government.
The two latest bombings, however, struck predominantly Sunni towns. So far, Shiite militants have resisted striking back at Sunnis. It was not immediately clear if today's bombings were retaliation for earlier attacks, but residents in the stricken areas raised fears of renewed sectarian conflict.