Several car bombs struck cities across Iraq, killing dozens as people flooded the streets to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Sixty-nine people were reportedly killed on Saturday in the bombings that took place in mostly Shiite neighborhoods, reports the Washington Post and the New York Times.
Around 150 people were injured, according to Voice of America.
The attacks are the most recent in a series of violent events in Iraq this summer, which have brought death tolls to a high not seen in almost five years.
Ramadan was an especially violent time with 671 killed, prompting security authorities to promise more efforts to keep citizens safe during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations.
“My shop’s windows were smashed and smoke filled the whole area,” said Saif Mousa, who has a shoe store in Baghdad. “We had a terrible day that was supposed to be nice because of Eid.”
Most of the attacks took place within an hour of each other, leading authorities to believe they were coordinated.
The worst of the attacks killed eight people in Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber drove a bomb-laden vehicle into a residential neighborhood.
The U.S. condemns, “in the strongest possible terms, the cowardly attacks today in Baghdad,” according to State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki. She called the bombers “enemies of Islam” and emphasized the $10 million reward offered by the U.S. for any information that helps authorities kill or capture Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the alleged leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
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