Baghdad blasts targeting Shiites kill 12

Nine bombings mainly targeting Shiite-majority areas of Baghdad killed at least 12 people today, officials said, as Iraq suffers its worst violence in years.
The seven car bombs and two roadside bombs, which hit six different areas of Baghdad, also wounded more than 60 people, the sources said.
The deadliest single attack was a car bomb in the Karrada district in central Baghdad that killed at least three people and wounded at least 10.
Baghdad, one of the most frequently-targeted cities in the country, is hit by near-daily bombings and shootings.
Sunni jihadists often target members of Iraq's Shiite majority, whom they consider apostates.

Iraq has been hit by a year-long surge in bloodshed that has reached levels not seen since 2008, driven by widespread discontent among the country's Sunni Arab minority, and by the bloody civil war in neighbouring Syria.
Violence in Iraq has killed more than 1,790 people since January 1, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.