A series of bombings struck across Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing 24 people in the latest round of sectarian violence since the departure of American soldiers. The attacks targeted two of the city's largest (and poorest) Shiite neighborhoods, Kadhimiya and Sadr City, during the morning rush hour. The first explosion was set off near a group of day laborers hoping to find work, while two more bombs went off after first responders arrived on the scene. The attacks come exactly two weeks after a round of coordinated bombings struck the city killing 60 Iraqis. It is believed that groups tied to Al-Qaeda are working to exploit tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in the Iraqi government that threaten to plunge the country back into civil war, now that American forces have left the country.

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Dashiell Bennett