Iraq bomb attacks targets Kurds and Shiite
Two booby-trapped lorries exploded around 4:00 am (0100 GMT) in the village of Khaznah, 20 kilometers (13 miles) east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded.
Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village which is the home of members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin.
Bombings and shootings are reported almost daily in and around Mosul, capital of Nineveh province, where disputes between Arabs and Kurds threaten to split the region and inflame tensions that could threaten Iraq’s long-term stability.
In Baghdad, two car bombs targeting laborers killed 16 people and wounded 81 in predominantly Shiite areas in the southwest of the capital, police said.
In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.
The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46.
The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others
The insurgency in Iraq has waned in the last 18 months, but has remained stubborn in Mosul and a few other areas.
Several large-scale attacks in recent weeks have raised doubts about the capability of Iraqi forces to cope alone after U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban centers in June.
Last week, a string of bombings targeted Shiite Muslims in Baghdad and northern Iraq.