Bombings kill dozens in Iraq

Most of the attacks this year have been on Shi'ite targets, suggesting that Al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab extremists are trying to rekindle sectarian fighting and undermine Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki within his core Shi'ite constituency.

Attacks have accelerated since the Shi'ite-led government began cracking down on Sunni paramilitary groups that abandoned the insurgency and joined forces with the United States.

The deadliest blast yesterday occurred in an outdoor market in Baghdad's Dora district, when a bomb exploded near a US foot patrol, US and Iraqi officials said.

US officials said three soldiers were killed and an undisclosed number of Americans were wounded. Iraqi police said 12 civilians also were killed and 25 were wounded. The Iraqis spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information.

Army Major David Shoupe said US officials could not confirm Iraqi police and witness reports that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

Khalil Hamza, a college student who lives near the market, said he noticed four passengers in a white car watching the Americans as they walked through the area. After the blast, he saw the car speed away with three men inside.

Earlier yesterday, seven Sunni paramilitaries were killed and eight were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives as they stood in line waiting to be paid at a military base in the northern city of Kirkuk, police Major Salam Zankana said.

The paramilitary groups, known as awakening councils or sons of Iraq, have frequently been targeted by Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups.

Sami Ghayashi, 37, who was among the wounded in Kirkuk, said the local council members had been waiting three months to receive their salaries.

"While we were waiting at gate talking to one another a big explosion took place," he said from a hospital bed. "I saw several colleagues dead, among them my cousin. I have no idea how this suicide bomber got among us."

Also yesterday, a bomb exploded in a trash container inside a Baghdad police station, killing three policemen and wounding 19 others, an Iraqi police official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity. The attacks occurred a day after a car bomb exploded near a group of restaurants in a Shi'ite neighborhood of northwest Baghdad, killing 41 and wounding more than 70.

It was the capital's first major car bombing since May 6 and the deadliest in the city since twin car blasts killed 51 people in another Shi'ite neighborhood, Sadr City, on April 29.

Despite those attacks, security in Baghdad remains much better than a few years ago, when the rumble of explosions reverberated daily through the city.

In recent months, violence has been cyclical, with periods of calm punctuated by brief series of high-profile attacks. But the limited attacks have stoked public anger over the failure of Iraqi security forces to prevent attacks.