Violent attacks kill dozens in Iraq

Agence France-Presse

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The spike in violence comes as the U.S. military prepares to decamp from the nation's cities and towns by June 30 and has sparked fears of a return to the sectarian violence that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war three years ago.

The main target of the attacks was Baghdad, where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a crowded market in Dora neighborhood, killing at least 12 people and wounding 25. The market attack came soon after a bomb exploded in a rubbish bin inside a Baghdad police station, killing three policemen and injuring 20. The day began on a bloody note when a suicide bomber killed eight members of an anti-Qaeda militia early morning in Kirkuk as they were lining up to receive their salaries.

Iraqi Vice President Tarek al-Hashemi called for national unity. "We call upon our people to unite, to not give in to the enemies of Iraq who are trying to undermine our unity," he said.