Baghdad market bombings kill 13

A mother arrived at al-Kindi hospital fearing the loss of three sons

Three bomb attacks on markets in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, have killed 13 people and wounded at least 60 others.

The heaviest loss of life was in Nahda market, where at least nine people were killed and 30 were hurt.

Another four people died in a bombing in the Hay al-Amil area and 13 were hurt in third market attack.

The bombings came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki prepared to hold talks with rival groups about choosing defence and interior

ministers.

Mr Maliki has said he expects to fill the positions soon, and that improving security in Baghdad is one of his government's top priorities.

Anti-US insurgents launch daily attacks in the capital and across Iraq, to destabilise the situation following the US-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein's government in 2003.

Busy market

The first blast of the day occurred at approximately 1000 local time (0600 GMT) in the Nahda area of the Iraqi capital.

The area houses a busy market and one of Baghdad's main bus stations.

Reporters at Baghdad's al-Kindi hospital said one woman was screaming that she had lost three sons in the Nahda attack.

A bomb attack in the Hay al-Amil district killed four people and hurt 18, while another bombing in Al Bayaa market in southern Baghdad left 13 people injured.

At least two other suspected bomb attacks, in addition to the three market blasts, occurred in a wealthy suburb of west Baghdad, injuring five people, reports say.

Police also reported that a Sunni imam and his bodyguard were killed by gunmen in a drive-by shooting in the predominantly Shia Muslim city of Basra, in southern Iraq.