Twin Car Bombs Kill 11 In Baghdad, Say Police Officials

Two separate car bombs exploded in a Shiite district in eastern Baghdad today, police officials said, killing 11 people as violence surges in Iraq amid an escalating political crisis a month after the US military withdrawal.

A wave of bombing attacks has killed at least 170 people since the beginning of the year, many of whom were Shiite pilgrims attending religious commemorations. The last American soldiers left the country December 18.

Suspected Sunni insurgents have frequently targeted Shiite communities and Iraqi security forces to undermine public confidence in the Shiite-dominated government and its efforts to protect people.

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