Sectarian Violence Erupts Again Across Iraq
Renewed sectarian violence this week is setting back Iraqi efforts toward national reconciliation.
![Mourners stand beside coffins of four members of a family killed in Basra bomb attacks, during a funeral in Najaf ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH
Mourners stand beside coffins of four members of a family killed in Basra bomb attacks, during a funeral in Najaf, around 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad May 20, 2013. More than 70 people were killed in a series of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, extending the worst sectarian violence since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. The attacks increased the number kil](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/05/RTXZUCJ.jpg/RTXZUCJ.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=_GqIDVqu)
The truce between the Shiite-led Iraqi government and its Sunni opposition was broken after a wave of violent attacks in Iraq stepped up the political tension to unprecedented levels, especially when Abdul Malak al-Saadi, a prominent Sunni cleric, accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of blocking the dialogue initiative.
The bombs that went off in Sunni and Shiite areas last week resulted in more than 450 dead and wounded.