Iraq bomb blasts

Bombs struck Sunni areas in Baghdad and surrounding areas Friday in the deadliest day in Iraq in more than eight months, officials said.

Tension has been building since Sunnis began protesting what they say is mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government, including random detentions. The number of attacks has risen since a security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in the country's north on April 23.

Two roadside bombs exploded on Friday leaving at least 19 people dead west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, local media reported, citing security officials. The back-to-back blasts, which occurred in the town of Amariya, also injured at least 45, reported the independent broadcaster Alsumaria TV.

Earlier on Friday, one bomb exploded outside the mosque in Baquba, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Baghdad, and a second explosion tore into crowds of people rushing to help victims of the first attack, police said. At least 43 people died.

Eight others died and more than 20 were wounded by a similar device targeting people gathering for the funeral of a Sunni Muslim cleric who was killed a day earlier.

Two more were killed in the southern outskirts of Baghdad at another funeral for someone who died in one of a series of attacks in the capital on Thursday.

Four others were killed when a roadside bomb exploded next to a coffee shop in the city of Falluja. A roadside bomb in the Doura district of southern Baghdad killed three, according to police and medics.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The United Nations said April was the deadliest month in Iraq since June 2008, with more than 700 people killed and 1,600 wounded.

jm/jlw (AP, AFP, dpa)