WASHINGTON — Violence is spreading across the Middle East as Iraqis continue to see bombings hit along religious sectarian lines.
Reuters reported that in the most recent strings of bombings and attacks, at least 71 Iraqis were killed and 201 wounded.
This year has been a bloody year for Iraqis as the country’s al-Qaeda branch, the Islamic State of Iraq, has carried out the majority of the killings. Just as in Syria, religious divisions between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims are driving a wedge in Iraq, fueled by al-Qaeda’s destructive tactics.
The Shi’a government is at odds with the country’s Sunni minority, who were in power under the dead dictator Saddam Hussein. Adding to the conflict is how the Kurds are a semi-autonomous region, have significant oil resources and want no part in the sectarian violence.
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