Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up on Friday in separate attacks on Baghdad pet bazaars, killing at least 73 people and wounding dozens, police said. The attacks were the deadliest in the Iraqi capital since 30,000 more American troops flooded into the centre of the country last spring.

In the first attack, a woman detonated explosives hidden under her traditional black Islamic robe at about 10.20 am in the central al-Ghazl market. The weekly bazaar has been bombed several times since the war started but has recently re-emerged as a popular shopping venue as Baghdad security improved and a Friday ban on driving was lifted.

Police said at least 46 people were killed and 82 wounded. Firefighters scooped up debris scattered among pools of blood, clothing and pigeon carcasses.

About 20 minutes later, a second female suicide bomber struck a bird market in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern Baghdad. That blast killed as many as 27 people and wounded 25, police said.

The attacks shortly before the weekly Islamic call to prayer resounded across the capital were the latest in a series of violent incidents that have been chipping away at Iraqi confidence in the permanence of recent security gains.

Police initially said the bomb was hidden in a box of birds but determined it was a suicide attack after finding the woman’s head, an officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to release the information.

At least four other suicide bombings have been staged by women since November, all in the volatile Diyala province northeast of the capital.

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