WORLD
Car bombs kill at least 16 in Baghdad
Baku, January 10 (AZERTAC). Two car bombs exploded Monday evening in the Iraqi capital and killed at least 16 people, authorities said. At least one appeared to target Shiite pilgrims, sinking the country deeper into a new wave of sectarian violence.
The second car bomb struck near a police vehicle in the Shiite neighbourhood of al-Shaab, killing three policemen and four other people, police and hospital officials said. Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb killed two Shiite pilgrims in a Baghdad suburb. The attacks were the latest in a wave of violence primarily targeting Shiites that has killed more than 90 people in less than a week.
The leaders of Iraq`s rival sects have been locked in a standoff since last month, when authorities in the Shiite-dominated government called for Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi`s arrest on terrorism charges just as the last American troops were withdrawing from the country. Al-Hashemi is Iraq`s highest ranking Sunni politician.