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Two simultaneous car bombs killed at least 88 people in a busy market in central Baghdad yesterday as fresh violence engulfed an Iraq poised for the start of a US-backed offensive in the capital.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki angrily blamed the car bombs on followers of Saddam Hussein, whose botched execution last month angered a large swathe of Sunni Arabs.

The midday blasts, less than a second apart, also maimed scores at a second-hand goods market in Bab al-Sharji, a busy commercial area home to both Sunni Arab and Shi'ite shop owners and traders.

"These terrorists ... imagine this will break the will of the Iraqi people and incite strife," Maliki said in a statement that blamed "a coalition of Saddamists and terrorists" for the carnage. Police put the death toll at 88, with 160 wounded.

Following the explosions, bodies lay charred beside charred and mangled market stalls. Minibuses and cars helped ambulances ferry the wounded away as firemen put out the flames.

The casualties swamped the local Kindi hospital with many corpses lying in a row in the street outside, some covered with blue sheets, along with a pile of body parts.

Last week, at least 70 people were killed in a double bombing outside a Baghdad university. Maliki also blamed those attacks on Saddam's supporters.

The prime minister announced a major security plan for Baghdad earlier this month, vowing to crush illegal armed groups "regardless of sect or politics."

His critics say earlier attempts to stabilize the capital failed in part due to his reluctance to engage the Mehdi Army militia led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a political ally. The Pentagon says the militia has now overtaken Sunni Islamist Al-Qaida as the biggest threat to peace in Iraq.

(China Daily January 23, 2007)