41 die in Iraqi car bombs

THREE car bombs have exploded in the Shia district of Sadr City in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, yesterday killing at least 41 people, police say.

Local hospitals said more than 70 people were wounded in the blasts, which occurred in busy markets in the impoverished area.

Suicide bombings last week killed at least 150 people in just two days.

The Iraqi police said that the bombs went off in quick succession in three adjacent markets in Sadr City.

Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area, which has long been a stronghold of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.