Bombings hit Baghdad - Iraq death toll tops 900

1 Feb BTI

Bombings near a market and a restaurant in Baghdad killed six people on Thursday as the death toll for January topped 900, with no end in sight to Iraq´s worst violence since 2008.The protracted surge in bloodshed, coupled with a deadly standoff between security forces and anti-government fighters in Anbar province, has fuelled fears the country is slipping back into all-out conflict with elections looming in just three months.

Washington plans to sell Iraq 24 Apache attack helicopters to help the country fight militants, but foreign leaders have also urged the government to address long-term grievances in the disaffected Sunni community to undercut support for militancy.

Blasts struck the Baghdad neighbourhoods of Kasra and Talbiyah on Thursday morning, hours after several car bombs ripped through commercial areas of the capital.The latest bombings killed at least six people and left 20 others wounded, security and medical officials said.