BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army on Thursday blamed a wave of near-simultaneous bombings that killed more than 50 people in mostly Shiite districts of Baghdad on loyalists of Saddam Hussein's toppled regime.
"This series of bombings was supposed to be carried out on the 28th, the birthday of Saddam Hussein," Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta said, referring to the former leader executed in December 2006.
"But because of the security measures that we took that day they could not carry it out," he said, adding that the attacks appeared to be aimed at sowing "sectarian strife" between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Three car bombs on Wednesday tore through markets in the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City, the main stronghold of the anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
At least 51 people were killed and scores were wounded in the attacks, according to medics who updated on Thursday the previous death toll of 48.
Another seven people were killed in four additional explosions in Shiite and mixed neighbourhoods elsewhere in the capital, according to security officials.
Atta said security forces were able to defuse another six car bombs set to go off at the same time.
A statement by the US military said that the bombings were meant to trigger the kind of confessional strife that swept Iraq in the wake of the 2003 US invasion.
"These attacks are an attempt to incite sectarian violence, but the Iraqi people have shown that they are rejecting this bankrupt philosophy," it said.
The Islamic Party -- the largest Sunni party in parliament -- issued a statement Thursday condemning the attacks as a "criminal operation aimed at sowing terror and sectarian strife."
"The Islamic Party strongly condemns this cowardly terrorist act and emphasises that this new wave of explosions is a great conspiracy led by the enemies of Iraq," it said.
April has been the bloodiest month since the start of the year, with more than 300 people killed and more than 700 wounded, according to a tally based on reports from security officials.
The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 is viewed by critics as an 'act of aggression' that violated international law.
Subsequent US occupation policies caused the country to descend into almost total chaos, bordering on civil war.
An estimated 1.3 million Iraqis have been killed in Iraq as a direct result of the invasion, while millions more have fled the country.
Critics argue that the recent stability announced in the country should not excuse the 'crime' of invading Iraq, calling for the prosecution of the war's architects for 'crimes against humanity'.
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