Reports are emerging of a series of blasts in Baghdad which are believed to have killed at least 63 people in an apparently coordinated attack. Nearly 200 people were wounded, according to a spokesman for the Iraqi Health Ministry.

Iraqi officials said at least 12 bombs went off early on Thursday morning in nine neighborhoods around the city. The violence ranged from sticky bombs attached to cars to roadside bombs and vehicles packed with explosives. Most of the carnage occurred in Shiite neighborhoods, although some Sunni areas were also attacked. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The violence is the worst to hit Baghdad in months. It comes in the wake of a political crisis between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite factions, which erupted this weekend on the heels of the US troop withdrawal.

The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused the Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, of running a hit squad targeting government officials. Al-Maliki is also pushing for a vote of no-confidence against another Sunni politician, the deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq.

Many Sunnis fear that this is part of a wider campaign to go after Sunni political figures in general and shore up Shiite control across the country.

However, according to the Associated Press, the coordinated nature of today’s assault suggests a planning capability only available to al-Qaeda in Iraq. The Sunni extremist group often targets Shiites who they believe are not true Muslims, and it was mostly Shiite neighborhoods which were targeted.

Earlier, American military officials said they were worried about a resurgence of al-Qaeda after the US military leaves the country. If that happens, it could lead Shiite militants to fight back and attack Sunni targets, thus sending Iraq back to the sectarian violence it experienced just a few years ago.

Source - http://rt.com/news/iraq-baghdad-bombing-violence-413/