Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 July / Trend A.Taghiyeva /
A series of explosions occurred in Iraq's capital Baghdad and the city of Basra in the morning of July 29, Al Arabiya TV channel reported on Monday.
According to the report, the preliminary data says the blasts killed 48 people, with some 220 people wounded.
According to available information, 11 car bombs exploded only in Baghdad, with five cars being blown up in areas densely populated by Shia Muslims.
Rising tensions in Iraq are caused by historical confrontation between two largest Muslim communities - Sunni and Shia. During Saddam Hussein's rule, the Sunnis were holding dominant positions in the government of Iraq. However, after the U.S. military invasion in Iraq in 2003, resulting in overthrow of Hussein, the Sunnis were displaced by the Shias, taking a number of important public positions, among which is the most influential position of the prime minister.