Bomb blasts have killed 190 people in Iraq's capital in the worst day of violence since U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a security crackdown in Baghdad two months ago.
More than 200 others were wounded in the blasts, which occurred in mainly Shi'ite areas.
In the deadliest attack Wednesday, a car bomb killed at least 127 people in the Sadriyah market in central Baghdad. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki later ordered the arrest of an Iraqi army colonel who was in charge of security in the Sadriyah area.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told VOA's Kurdish Service that the carnage in Baghdad shows the desperation of the terrorists to stop the security plan. He pleaded for patience so the plan can work.
Elsewhere, British troops handed over security control of the southern province of Maysan to Iraqi forces. It is the fourth province to come under full Iraqi security control. The British commander in southern Iraq, Major General Jonathan Shaw, called the transfer a sign of growing Iraqi capabilities.
Earlier, the U.S. military said coalition forces killed five terrorists and detained 30 suspects during an operation in restive al-Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
Some information for this report provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
