Suicide Attacks: The Car Bombings Continue

At least 24 people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in the Iraqi
capital Baghdad, police said.

At least two car bombs and a mortar in quick succession killed 18
people and injured dozens more at a busy market in a southern mainly
Shia district.

Hours later a suicide bomber blew himself up in a minibus in northern Baghdad killing at least six people.

Meanwhile two UK helicopters crashed after an apparent mid-air collision north of Baghdad, killing two crew.

The helicopters came down in the early morning near a US base
south-west of Taji. Early reports said the helicopters and troops were
American.

In Baghdad, the first attacks took place in the south-western Al-Shurta al-Arabaa district.

About 50 people were injured in the attacks. Women and children were among the casualties.

The second bomb and mortar hit as rescuers were trying to cope with the aftermath of the first and get people to hospital.

There were also unconfirmed reports of a third bomb in the area.

The attacks came a day after a suicide attack on a crowded market in
the Shia holy city of Karbala, which is now known to have killed 42
people, and a truck bomb attack on a bridge in southern Baghdad.

At least 36 people have been killed and more than 160 hurt in a suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's holy city of Karbala, officials say.

The attacker detonated explosives at a crowded bus station in the city close to a shrine holy to Shia Muslims, at around 0915 local time (0515 GMT).

Many of the casualties were said to be women or children.

Meanwhile in Baghdad at least 10 people died in a truck bomb attack on a key bridge in the south of the city.

The driver of the pick-up detonated his bomb near a checkpoint on the Jadariya bridge, across the River Tigris. The bridge appears to have been left intact.

This follows a truck bomb which partially destroyed the Sarafiya bridge in northern Baghdad on Thursday, killing eight people.

The attacks come as a US-led security operation enters its third month.

The surge has brought down the rate of sectarian murders in the capital but has failed to stop bomb attacks.

Correspondents say the latest attacks suggest a change in tactics by insurgents, who are targeting infrastructure in an attempt to undermine confidence in the crackdown.