Baghdad - Twin blasts carried out by female suicide bombers tore through Baghdad's pet and bird markets Friday, killing at least 69 people and wounding 180 in the deadliest attacks in the capital in six months, security and medical officials said. The death toll in the first blast, which struck central Baghdad's al-Ghazl pet market, rose to at least 44 and the number of wounded was at least 118, police and hospital sources said.
The sources put the death toll in the other attack, which occurred shortly after in the birds' market in south-east Baghdad, at 25 and estimated the number of wounded to be 62.
General Kasim Atta, the spokesman for Baghdad military operations, said both attacks were carried out by mentally deranged women loaded with explosives, which were detonated remotely.
Hospitals around Baghdad have been receiving the dead and wounded in the attacks, which occurred on Friday morning as both markets were teeming with people doing their weekend shopping.
Al-Ghazl is a popular market that sells exotic birds and pets from across the world only on Fridays. It has been struck several times since the US-led invasion on Iraq.
In November, a blast at the market caused at least 13 fatalities. But the latest attack is the deadliest in the capital since an explosion of a fuel truck in August left at least 50 dead.
Life in Baghdad had been returning to normal owing to a fall in violence in recent months.
A major security offensive, a US troop surge and the involvement of tribal police units against Sunni extremist militants all contributed to improving security in the Iraqi capital.
Earlier Friday, the US military said a soldier had been killed and another injured in an attack on their convoy in Tikrit and a third had been killed in a bomb blast in Baghdad. Both attacks occurred on Thursday evening.
