A wave of car bombings in mainly Shiite areas of Baghdad killed 23 people on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a surge in violence that has been the most serious challenge to the government’s efforts to achieve stability across Iraq. The attacks came as Iraqi Shiites were celebrating the birthday of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and Shiite Islam’s most sacred martyr. In the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a car bomb went off in the morning hours, killing four people and wounding six, police officials said. Another car bomb elsewhere in Sadr City exploded near a cluster of homes, killing two people and wounding seven. Associated Press Television footage from one of the Sadr City attacks showed a thick cloud of smoke rising from the blast area where several cars were on fire. A short while later, a car […]