BAGHDAD: Violence spiked as Iraq readied on Friday for its first elections since US troops withdrew, with 27 people killed in a late-night bombing at a Baghdad billiards cafe frequented by young men.
The attack raises further questions about the credibility of Saturday’s provincial elections, with 14 candidates already having been killed and a third of the country’s provinces not even voting amid an ongoing political crisis.
The polls are seen as a key test of Iraq’s stability and security, and will provide a gauge of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki’s popularity as he grapples with infighting in his national unity government and months of protests by Iraq’s Sunni minority.
The latest bombing struck at 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Thursday in the west Baghdad suburb of Amriyah, leaving 27 dead and more than 50 others wounded, security and medical officials said.
Among the dead were at least three children and a woman.
It exploded at the Dubai cafe, which lies on the 2nd floor of a small shopping mall in the predominantly Sunni neighbourhood that is filled with families as it contains restaurants and clothes shops.
The cafe itself, however, is mostly frequented by young men playing billiards and video games.
Security forces restricted movements in Amriyah on Friday in the wake of the blast believed to be handiwork of extremist Sunni insurgents.
Militants linked to al-Qaida frequently set off bombings in both Sunni and Shia neighbourhoods across the capital, and the country, in a bid to undermine confidence in the government and security forces.
The bombing is the latest in a wave of violence, with 50 people killed in nationwide attacks on Monday, and March having been the deadliest month in Iraq since last summer, according to a tally.
An estimated 13.8 million Iraqis are eligible to vote on Saturday for more than 8,000 candidates, with 378 seats being contested.
It is the first vote in Iraq since March 2010 parliamentary polls, and the first since US forces withdrew from the country in December 2011. Agencies
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