Series of Blasts Kill 76 in Baghdad

At least 13 separate attacks pounded Baghdad's Shiite neighborhoods today, killing 76 and wounding nearly 200, the AP reports. The assault was highly organized, with mortar attacks coordinated with bomb-rigged cars and roadside mines. Coming just two days after a hostage crisis at a Catholic church that left 58 dead, the attack underscores the continued difficulties Iraq's security forces face in protecting the populace.

In one devastating attack, a bomb inside a parked car near a popular market in a Sadr City neighborhood killed 15 and wounded 23. The violence came after hundreds of mourners packed a service for those people murdered in Sunday's church siege. Meanwhile, France agreed to grant asylum to 150 Iraqi Christians, some of whom were wounded in the attack.
(More Baghdad stories.)