Baghdad in further wave of attacks

Two bombs exploded southeast of Baghdad on Wednesday, authorities said, killing at least eight people in the latest wave of bloody attacks in Iraq this month. A series of attacks in June have left nearly 180 people dead, according to estimates. The first bomb Wednesday exploded in a home in al-Wahda area, injuring three family members, according to police officials. When neighbours rushed to help, another bomb detonated, killing eight people and wounding seven others. Al-Wahda is about 20km (12 miles) southeast of Baghdad. In a separate incident in western Baghdad, a bomb exploded inside a house, killing three women and wounding two people, officials said. A source in the Iraqi police told Arabstoday that unknown armed men bombed the house of a clan’s chieftain with explosive devices implanted in the vicinity of the house. The source added that the explosion caused the collapse of the house along with four other neighouring houses. It noted that security forces sealed off the scene, transferring dead bodies to the morgue and the wounded to hospital. Investigations are now taking place. The attacks this month included one that ranked as the deadliest day in the country since the United States withdrew its troops in December. On June 13, a bomb targeted pilgrims headed to Baghdad, killing at least 93 people. An additional 312 people were injured in the attacks mostly aimed at Shiite pilgrims trekking and driving to a shrine in Baghdad. In May, 132 people were killed in violence while the month prior had 126 fatalities, according to figures released by the interior ministry. Overall, violence in Iraq has dropped since the peak of sectarian attacks between 2005 and 2007, but bombs and shootings are still commonplace "The scale of the violence is disturbing. I urgently appeal to the government to address the root causes of the violence and terrorism that are causing so much suffering and pain to the Iraqi people," Martin Kobler, the UN special representative for Iraq, said after the deadly attacks this month.