Iraq: 22 killed as bombs tear through coffee shops

Bombs exploded in busy coffee shops and at other targets across Iraq late yesterday, killing at least 18 people, police and medics said.

Bombs exploded in busy coffee shops and at other targets across Iraq late on Thursday, killing at least 22 people, police and medics said.

HT Image

In north and south Baghdad, two blasts tore through cafes where scores of young men had gathered to watch a televised football match, killing eight people, police and medical sources said.

Two other explosions killed 10 people in coffee shops in the city of Baquba, about 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said.

Another bomb exploded near a cafe in the town of Jbela, 65 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, killing three, and a "sticky bomb" attached to a car killed a civilian in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

Violence has grown in Iraq since the start of the year, claiming more than 1,000 people in May alone, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006-07.

Insurgents, including al-Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, have been recruiting from the country's Sunni Muslim minority, which feels sidelined following the US-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein and empowered majority Shi'ites.

The latest bombs struck as Iraqis celebrated moves by the UN Security Council towards ending sanctions imposed on Baghdad more than two decades ago after former President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.