Wave of blasts kills dozens in Shiite areas of capital

(5 Jan 2012) Kazimiyah neighbourhood, Baghdad 1. Damaged fa�ade of a hotel 2. Various of bulldozer sweeping away debris 3. Various of damaged cars 4. Onlookers gathered around damaged car and damaged fa�ade of a hotel 5. Various of wreckage of car bomb 6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Razzaq Sahib, eyewitness: ''I call on leaders to be cautious to the events taking place in the country. They (the politicians) brought the country into catastrophe and atrocities. Today we call on them to hold a conference to resolve all problems. These are the tragic outcomes of their disputes.'' 7. Wide of people gathered in front of damaged hotel 8. Various of people gathered at blast site Sadr City, Baghdad 9. Wide of damaged minibus and bus where the motorbike bomb exploded 10. Mid of damaged bus 11. Close of bus hit by blast 12. People gathered around the bus looking through the smashed windows 13. Wide of the people looking through the smashed windows 14. Damaged minibus 15. Shattered glass on the seat of vehicle 16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali Qassim, resident: ''We hold the government responsible for such attacks. They (the politicians) are bickering over the seats and those poor people are killed in these blasts.'' 17. Wide of damaged building and shops at the site of the second blast in Sadr City 18. Damaged sign 19. Various of damaged car 20. Damaged shops 21. Exterior of Sadr Hospital 22. People in corridor 23. Various of medical staff attending to the injured on hospital beds 24. Close of injured man's face 25. Another injured man surrounded by relatives 26. Doctor examining injured man 27. Injured man groaning in pain 28. Various of injured surrounded by relatives 29. A man with bandaged head walking outside the hospital 30. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fadhil Hussein, resident injured in blast: "While we were getting in our cars at Square 55, a big explosion took place. We didn't know how many casualties there were.'' 31. Close of sign reading (Arabic) ''Sadr Hospital'' STORYLINE: A wave of bombings targeting Shiites in Iraq killed 72 people on Thursday, deepening sectarian tensions that exploded just after the last American troops left the country in mid-December. The coordinated attacks targeting Shiites bore the hallmarks of Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaida, although there was no immediate claim of responsibility. The bombings began early in the morning when explosions struck two Shiite neighbourhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 27 people. A few hours later, a suicide attack hit Shiite pilgrims heading to the holy Shiite city of Karbala, killing 45, said a provincial official. The explosions took place near Nasiriyah, about 200 miles (320 kilometres) southeast of Baghdad. Hospital officials confirmed the causalities. The blasts occurred in the run-up to Arbaeen, a Shiite holy day which marks the end of 40 days of mourning that follow the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure. During this time, Shiite pilgrims from across Iraq make their way to Karbala, south of Baghdad. Baghdad military spokesman said the aim of the attacks is to create turmoil among the Iraqi people." He said it was too early to say who was behind the bombings. Standing amongst the debris in the Kazimiyah neighbourhood, eyewitness Razzaq Sahib said he believes the attacks are the result of the ongoing political arguments in the country. ''They (the politicians) brought the country into catastrophe and atrocities. Today we call on them to hold a conference to resolve all problems. These are the tragic outcomes of their disputes.'' Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...