Baghdad Blasts Kill Two Dozen Shi'ites.

Al-Qaeda has been busy again, with half a dozen car bombs detonating around the Iraqi capital, mainly targeting Shi'ite neighbourhoods, as reported by Al Arabiya yesterday:

Spate of Baghdad blasts kills at least 24 A wave of attacks, most of them car bombs targeting Shiite neighborhoods, rocked Baghdad early on Wednesday, killing at least 24 people in the latest bout of bloodshed to rock Iraq. The violence, which left 65 others wounded, comes amid a protracted surge in violence just months ahead of general elections that has forced Iraqi officials to appeal for international help in combatting the country's worst unrest since 2008. At least seven explosions, including six car bombs, hit Shiite Muslim neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital, according to security and medical officials, from about 7:30 am (0430 GMT) onwards. They come after similarly coordinated bombings in Baghdad on Sunday evening left 21 dead. Wednesday's attacks occurred in areas ranging from the city's main commercial district of Karrada to the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Shaab, as well as Sadriyah, one of Baghdad's oldest areas. One car bomb also went off in the Sunni-majority neighborhood of Adhamiyah in north Baghdad, the officials said. Security forces imposed tough measures in areas hit by attacks, in many cases barring journalists from filming video or taking photographs at bombing sites. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the violence, but Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda's front group often set off coordinated bombings across Baghdad, typically targeting Shiites, whom they regard as apostates. The unrest is part of a surge in bloodshed that has pushed violence to its highest level since 2008, when Iraq was recovering from the worst of its Sunni-Shiite sectarian war. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for Washington's help in the form of greater intelligence sharing and the timely delivery of new weapons systems in an effort to curb the bloodshed. But diplomats and analysts say the government is not doing enough to address the root causes of the unrest, particularly frustration in Iraq's Sunni Arab minority which alleges it is mistreated at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities. And with elections due on April 30, officials fear the level of violence could rise further as militants seek to destabilize the country ahead of landmark polls. In addition to failing to stem the bloodshed, authorities have also struggled to provide adequate basic services such as electricity and clean water, and corruption is widespread. Political squabbling has paralyzed the government, while parliament has passed almost no major legislation in years.

It never gets old with retelling that, in the absence of Jews, Christians, Hindus or Buddhists to persecute & murder, Muslims resort to the principle of 'takfir' to turn upon each other, declaring each other apostates & thus bringing the following perfect words of Allah into play:

And kill them wherever you find & catch them. Drive them out from where they have turned you out; for Fitna is worse than slaughter. Koran 2:191 Allah wished to confirm the truth by His words: 'Wipe the infidels out to the last.' Koran 8:7 Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: 'I am with you. Give firmness to the Believers. I will terrorise the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks & every joint & incapacitate them. Strike off their heads & cut off each of their fingers & toes.' Koran 8:12 So fight them until there is no more Fitna & all submit to the religion of Allah alone. Koran 8:39 Fight & kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait & ambush them using every stratagem of war. Koran 9:5 Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the last day, nor do they prohibit what Allah & His Messenger have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the jizya in acknowledgement of superiority & they are in a state of subjection. Koran 9:29 The Messenger & those who believe with him, strive hard & fight with their wealth & lives in Allah's Cause. Koran 9:88 Allah has purchased the believers, their lives & their goods. For them (in return) is the Garden. They fight in Allah's Cause, & they slay & are slain; they kill & are killed. Koran 9:111 Truly, if the Hypocrites stir up sedition, if the agitators in the City do not desist, We shall urge you to go against them & set you over them. Then they will not be able to stay as your neighbours for any length of time. They shall have a curse on them. Whenever they are found, they shall be seized & slain without mercy – a fierce slaughter – murdered, a horrible murdering. Koran 33:60 So, when you clash with the unbelieving Infidels in battle, smite their necks until you overpower them, killing & wounding many of them. At length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, bind them firmly, making captives. Thereafter, either generosity or ransom until the war lays down its burdens. Thus are you commanded by Allah to continue carrying out Jihad against the unbelieving infidels until they submit to Islam. Koran 47:4