30 killed as bombs rock Baghdad

At least 30 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in car bombings and roadside bomb explosions in Baghdad neighborhoods Tuesday evening, police officials in the Iraqi capital said.

Most of the explosions happened in Shiite areas, police said. Nearly all of the blasts happened just before people were to celebrate iftar, the fast-breaking dinner eaten at sunset during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Iraq is in a period of seemingly relentless violence, much of it stemming from discord between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. July was the deadliest month in Iraq since the peak of sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007.

According to figures released by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, 1,057 Iraqis were killed and another 2,326 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in July.

Tuesday’s bombings came the same week as Iraqi security forces were conducting a large-scale operation, “The Revenge for the Martyrs,” which attempts to track down al Qaeda members in and around Baghdad.

The operation started few days ago, and so far, hundreds of people have been arrested, according to the Baghdad Operation military command website.

The deadliest attack Tuesday happened in the al-Nahrawan area in the southeastern outskirts of the capital. Eight people there were killed and more than 20 others were injured when a car bomb and roadside bomb exploded in an outdoor market.

Explosions also happened in the Karrada area in central Baghdad; al-Shaab and al-Husseiniya in northeastern Baghdad; al-Dora in southern Baghdad and Zafaraniya in southeastern Baghdad.

Sunnis have long felt politically marginalized under a Shiite-led government in the post-Saddam Hussein era. They enjoyed more political clout during Hussein’s rule, which ended with the U.S.-led 2003 invasion.

CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq reported from Beirut, Lebanon, with Jason Hanna writing in Atlanta.