36 dead after series of bomb attacks rattle Baghdad

BAGHDAD - Four car bomb attacks and a mortar strike around Shi'ite parts of northern Baghdad killed 36 people and wounded 98 within a span of two hours Thursday afternoon, police and medical officials said.A suicide car bomb hit an army checkpoint near a restaurant in the northern district of Talibiya at 2:30 p.m., killing nine people; 45 minutes later, a pair of car bombs exploded in the district of al-Dawlai in western Baghdad, claiming the lives of 16 people and wounding 35 others.Minutes later, five mortar rounds hit the neighboring Shi'ite district of al-Shaoula, killing another five and wounding 21 others. A final car bomb exploded in the nearby Hurriya district, leaving six dead and wounding 14 others.