Suicide bombings kill 48 Iraqis

TWIN suicide bombings killed 48 people yesterday, including dozens from a government-backed, anti-al-Qaida militia who were lined up to get their paychecks near a military base southwest of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.

The bombings were the deadliest in a series of attacks across Iraq yesterday that were aimed at the Sons of Iraq, a Sunni group also known as Sahwa that works with government forces to fight al-Qaida in Iraq. The attacks highlighted the stiff challenges the country faces as the US scales back its forces in Iraq, leaving their Iraqi counterparts in charge of security.

The first attack yesterday morning — the deadliest against Iraq’s security forces in months — killed at least 45 people.