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BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BNO NEWS) -- A coordinated wave of bomb and shooting attacks targeted Shiite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, killing more than 100 people and injuring nearly 300 others during the Ramadan, local authorities said. It was the deadliest day in the country in more than two years.
A string of violent attacks ripped through at least fifteen different cities, among them the capital Baghdad, in six provinces across the country. The attacks included car bombings, motorcycle bombings, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and armed attacks, most of them targeting security forces and Shiite Muslims.
The deadliest attack was carried out in Taji, north of Baghdad, where at least 30 people died and dozens more were injured when several bomb blasts struck a residential complex. Among those killed were many civilians, but police officers and service members were also among the casualties.
In all, authorities said at least 109 people were killed across the country while more than 275 others were injured. Many of the injured remained in a critical condition on late Monday, raising fears the death toll is likely to rise. Most of the attacks happened in the morning, but attacks continued in the afternoon and evening.
Such levels of violence as witnessed on Monday have not been seen in Iraq for more than 2.5 years, but the coordinated attacks come just a day after three car bombs killed at least 20 people and injured more than 80 others in two towns south of Baghdad and in the city of Najaf.
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative, Gyorgy Busztin, strongly condemned what he described as 'senseless violence and bloodshed' across the country. "The scale and brutality of the attacks are appalling - especially now, when Iraqis are not only celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, with its messages of peace and reconciliation, but are also welcoming thousands of returnees who have fled the ongoing violence in Syria," he said.
On June 13, at least 93 people were killed in another wave of bomb and shooting attacks targeting Shiite Muslims who were marking the anniversary of the death of Imam Musa Kadhim, a great-grandson of the prophet Mohammad and a revered imam. More than 300 others were injured.
Although violence in Iraq has declined dramatically since its peak in 2006 and 2007, political turmoil and sectarian violence has been on the rise following the pullout of the last U.S. soldiers in mid-December 2011. At least 36 people were killed in mid-April when a series of bomb attacks hit cities and towns across the country.
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