Baghdad anti-Shiite attacks kill at least 8

A car bomb and mortar attacks against predominantly Shiite neighbourhoods in north Baghdad killed at least eight people on Tuesday, security and medical officials said. Multiple mortars struck the Chikouk area while a car bomb exploded in Shuala, all minutes apart at around 6:45 am, an interior ministry official said. The official put the toll from the attacks at nine killed and 12 wounded, while a medical source said seven people died and 22 were hurt. The medic warned that the toll could rise. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the chaotic aftermath of violence in Iraq. Both of the neighbourhoods are majority Shiite, and Chikouk in particular is home to a camp for internally displaced persons, mostly Shiite Muslims who fled largely Sunni areas during the worst of Iraq's confessional violence in 2006 and 2007. The attacks come after 12 people were killed in nationwide violence on Saturday, with the deadliest violence also striking a Shiite area of north Baghdad. Violence is down sharply across Iraq from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks are still common, especially in Baghdad and Mosul. At least 250 people have been killed as a result of unrest in each of the past four months.