Deadly Car Bombings Strike Several Southern Iraqi Cities

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WATCH: Deadly car bombings strike southern Iraq

Iraqi officials say separate car bombings in three southern cities have killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens.

Police say the deadliest of the attacks on August 20 was in the city of Amara, where a car bomb exploded in a commercial area, killing four civilians and wounding 42.

Separately, an Iraqi general said five gunmen had been killed and 116 militants detained during an operation in the Hamrein Mountains, south of Kirkuk.

Last week, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged to continue operations against Sunni insurgents he described as "terrorists."

There has been a sharp rise in sectarian violence in Iraq in recent months between the country's minority Sunnis and majority Shi'a.

The United Nations said that 1,057 people were killed in July, the deadliest month in more than five years.


Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa