BAGHDAD — The wails of mourners reverberated Thursday across the Shiite Muslim city of Amarah, still reeling from three car bombs that ripped through its main market the previous day.
The local health department lowered the death toll from 41 to 28, citing confusion in the aftermath of the first major bombing attack to hit the southern city during the Iraq war. At the same time, the estimate of the number of injured grew to at least 180, said Dr. Zamil Shiya, who heads the health department.
The wounded filled the city's two main hospitals. One old man lay wheezing on a bed at Sadr General Hospital, his entire body blackened with shrapnel wounds. In the hallway, Hassenain Ali turned to face the wall, holding his head in his hands and crying with worry for his 16-year-old brother.
"My brother Haider is seriously injured in his head with shrapnel, and until now the doctors can't stop the bleeding," he said, moaning.
Wednesday's apparently synchronized blasts, Iraq's bloodiest in months, were a sharp reminder that insurgents remain a potent force in Iraq, despite the 60% decline in attacks reported since U.S. forces completed a buildup of 28,500 additional troops in June.
Four people were killed and 12 wounded Thursday in coordinated bombings in the mostly Kurdish city of Khanaqin, about 90 miles northeast of Baghdad near the Iranian border. Police said the initial explosion was minor and caused no casualties. But as onlookers gathered round, a second blast ripped through the crowd.
The police command in Diyala, the province that includes Khanaqin, also reported the discovery of 16 bodies the previous day in a mass grave near Muqdadiya. Twelve of the bodies were beheaded and four had bullet holes to the head, said Maj. Raad Hadithy, adding that the victims appeared to have been killed recently. The U.S. military could not confirm the finding and said it might be a false report.
Diyala, populated by a volatile mix of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, remains one of Iraq's most violent provinces.
In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded Thursday about 200 yards away from the Italian Embassy, killing one Iraqi and injuring six others, including three policemen, officials said. It was not clear whether the embassy had been the intended target.
In the early hours of the morning, three more bombs exploded near liquor stores in central Baghdad, causing damage but no casualties. A fourth device was defused by police.
