BAGHDAD — Three car bombs exploded in quick succession Wednesday at the main market of a southern Shiite city, killing at least 41 people and wounding 150 others, police and local government officials said. It was the deadliest attack against Iraqi civilians in four months.
The devastating blasts in Amarah, an oil-producing city largely spared from sectarian bloodshed, occurred only days before Britain was expected to hand over a neighboring southern province, the last remaining under British control since the 2003 invasion.
Fears are rising about whether Iraq’s mostly Shiite security forces can control Shiite militias competing for power in the oil-rich south, even as U.S. officials report dramatic falls in violence nationwide.
American commanders fear that al-Qaida in Iraq and other extremists might try to exploit the security gap by attempting spectacular attacks against Shiite civilians in less-protected areas outside Baghdad, especially where there is little coalition military presence.
No group claimed responsibility for the Amarah bombings, which appeared to be bomb-rigged cars rather than suicide attacks. The blasts occurred minutes apart and seemed to be timed to bring maximum carnage.
Bystanders rushed to help victims of the first blast, only to suffer death or injury in the explosions that followed, police and witnesses said in Amarah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Car bombs are the signature weapon of al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists, which are seeking new sanctuaries after being driven out of the Baghdad area.
But such groups have had virtually no presence in Amarah and the surrounding Maysan province, where there are few Sunni communities to offer them shelter.
Instead, rival Shiite militias, some believe backed by Iran, pose the biggest security threat in the south. That threat has drawn new attention since Great Britain announced plans to draw down on its military presence.
British forces handed control of Maysan province to the Iraqis last April.
In a few days, Britain is expected to turn over the last southern province — oil-rich Basra, long rocked by militia turf battles. Maintaining security in Basra, the focal point of Iraq’s vast oil wealth, represents a major test for Iraqi security forces, which have been infiltrated by Shiite militias.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was visiting nearby Basra to discuss reconstruction issues, called the Amarah attack a “desperate attempt” to draw attention away from “the clear successes” in the battle to restore stability.
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