Al-Qaeda blamed for attacks on Shias that kill 150 in Baghdad

Mortar shells and car bombs devastated several streets in the Shia neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad Thursday, killing over 150 people and wounding more than 230. Witnesses said at least three car bombs blew up one after the other in markets and shopping streets. Maj.-Gen. Abdel Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said, "It is clear al-Qaeda did this." He said police believed ten mortar rounds had been fired and eight car bombs set, of which four went off. More than 3,700 people were killed in Baghdad last month, the UN reported Wednesday.