A series of attacks targeting Iraq's Shia majority have killed 58 people and wounded 180 as fears grow that a new wave of sectarian violence may be unleashed across the country. In one of the biggest attacks, a car bomb exploded on Tuesday evening outside a Shia mosque in Baghdad's northeastern al-Hurriya neighbourhood, killing 21 people and injuring 43 according to a local security official. The explosion came soon after three bombs went off in quick succession in Shia areas of the capital, leaving 30 people dead and 130 wounded.Responding to the continuing violence, George Bush, the US president, said that Iraq must choose between "chaos and unity".
The blasts came as the trial of Saddam Hussein resumed after a two-week suspension of his trial. Hours before Saddam returned to court bombs wrecked the tomb of his father, Hussein al-Majid in Tikrit.