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Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, after a suicide truck bomber killed at least 73 people near a Shiite Muslim mosque - Source: Reuters -
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Hundreds of angry Iraqis gathered around the wreckage of a market bombing in Baghdad where 78 people died, demanding better protection from the government after US troops pull back to bases.
A string of blasts has cast doubt on Iraqi forces' ability to keep the lid on a stubborn insurgency as US combat troops withdraw from towns and cities by June 30. More explosions on Thursday killed five policemen and at least two civilians.
Violence has dropped sharply across Iraq in the past year, but militants including Sunni Islamist al Qaeda continue to launch car and suicide bombings aimed at undermining the Shi'ite Muslim-led government and reigniting sectarian conflict.
Residents at the site of Wednesday's bombing in Baghdad's Shi'ite Sadr City slum sobbed and hugged each other, and many furiously cursed the authorities. The blast came four days after US soldiers handed control of the area to Iraqi forces.
"I expect more explosions," Mustafa Hussain, a 33-year-old grocer, said at the scene, where pieces of flesh, shreds of bloodied clothing and shoes still littered the area.
"Iraqi forces don't have enough experience and they don't check vehicles well at their checkpoints ... they must prove their abilities to the people."
Jawad Kadhim, a 40-year-old Sadr City taxi driver, said the attack was aimed at stoking sectarian hatred.
"The terrorist groups want to send a message that when the US troops leave the cities there will be a security vacuum," he said. "Relaxed security and corruption at checkpoints is the main reason we fear what may come next."
"Hateful crimes"
A massive truck bomb killed 73 people near the northern city of Kirkuk on Saturday. That and the Sadr City market bombing were the bloodiest attacks in the country for more than a year.
"The political nature of these attacks is becoming clear. They are an attempt to delay or suspend the withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi urban centres according to the timetable," Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said in a statement.
Elsewhere on Thursday, police in the once turbulent but recently secure western city of Falluja said a roadside bomb destroyed a police vehicle and killed all five policemen inside.
Falluja in Anbar province was once the heartland of the rebellion against the US military and government forces.
Hours later, at least two people died and 30 others were wounded when another bomb struck a crowded bus terminal in the south of the capital, a hospital source said.
In eastern Baghdad, the US military said nine US soldiers were wounded when two roadside bombs hit their patrol.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a member of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, urged the world to denounce the bloodshed.
"We call on the international community, especially Arabic and Islamic states, to take a clear and decisive stance against these hateful crimes," he said in a statement.
"Keeping silent is no longer an acceptable stance."
Maliki has urged Iraqis not to lose heart if insurgents take advantage of the US military drawdown to step up attacks.
Analysts say attacks are also likely to intensify ahead of a parliamentary election in January that will be a test of whether the country's feuding factions can live together after years of sectarian slaughter unleashed by the 2003 US invasion.
