Wave of car bombs kills dozens in Iraq

A wave of 17 car bombs tore through Iraqi streets and markets on Monday, killing at least 51 people and injuring more than 150 in mostly Shi'ite areas, underscoring the struggle of Iraq's central government to counter an epidemic of violence that has plagued the country since Sunni insurgents stepped up their attacks a few months ago. 

The deadliest of Monday's attacks occurred near a taxi terminal in the city of Kut, 93 miles southeast of the capital, police said. At least five people were killed and 38 injured when two car bombs blew up.

A car bomb also targeted a market in the southern city of Basra killing at least three people on Monday, security sources told Al Jazeera.

Four more died in a blast in the town of Mahmoudiya, about 19 miles south of Baghdad.

Iraqi forces are struggling to contain a resurgent al Qaeda, which has been regrouping and striking with a ferocity not seen in years.

Sectarian tensions across the region have been inflamed by the civil war in neigbouring Syria, which has drawn Shi'ites and Sunnis from Iraq and beyond into battle on opposite sides.

The rest of the bombings took place across Baghdad, in Sadr city, Habibiya, Hurriya, Bayaa, Ur, Shurta, Kadhimiya, Tobji, Shua'ala and Risala neighbourhoods, Reuters news agency reported.

Nearly 4,000 people in Iraq have been killed in violence since the start of the year, according to violence monitoring group Iraq Body Count.

The U.N. says violence is at its highest since 2008.

The ongoing violence has raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict in a country where Kurds, Shia and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

Monday's targeted ethnic violence against Shias comes a day after a suicide bomber targeted eight Kurdish security peronnel in the north of the country.

In July alone, more than 810 people have lost their lives in attacks.

Sources: Al Jazeera and wire services