Iraq to impose traffic restriction in Baghdad to stem violence

The Iraqi government on Thursday announced a traffic restriction will be imposed on the streets of Baghdad in an apparent move to combat the increasing car bombings in the capital.

The measure imposed by the General Directorate of Traffic of the Iraqi Interior Ministry will come into effect on Saturday and last until further notice, allowing cars with even and odd license numbers to take daily turns to go out, the Iraqiya TV channel reported.

The report did not give any specific reason for the measure, but it is widely regarded as a move to deal with the increasing violence in the country, in particular more and more frequent car bomb attacks in Baghdad.

Taxis, trucks and certain government vehicles will be exempt from the regulation, according to the report.

On Tuesday evening, at least a dozen of car bombs struck across Baghdad, mostly in Shiite neighborhoods, killing 47 people and wounding 163 others.

Iraq's monthly death toll from violence in August was 841, according to a statement released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq on Sunday. Also, almost 5,000 civilians have been killed and 12,000 injured since the beginning of 2013.

Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years, which raises fears that the country is sliding back to the full- blown civil conflict that peaked in 2006 and 2007, when monthly death toll sometimes exceeded 3,000.