A surge of violence in Iraq, including as many as 15 car bombings, has left more than 50 people dead. Iraqi police officers said that many of the bombs went off in largely Shiite neighborhoods, heightening concerns that the sectarian conflict in Syria may spill over into a full-blown sectarian war across the region. Sunni jihadists based in Iraq have escalated their campaigns against Shiites, targeting both civilians and government institutions, and Al Qaeda-linked groups are believed to be behind the Monday attacks.

Since the start of Ramadan on July 10, coordinated bombings and other attacks have intensified. That has revived fears that Iraq could return to the levels of sectarian violence seen over the last decade, after the American-led invasion in 2003.

While the violence is below the levels of the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, when the country moved to the brink of civil war, bombings remain common. As many as 700 people are believed to have been killed this month.

Militants among the minority Sunnis have been emboldened by the civil war in neighboring Syria, where the Sunni majority has been trying to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which is dominated by his Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism.

Al Qaeda is also taking credit for two prison breaks that freed approximately 500 prisoners. The Daily Beast spoke to American intelligence officials about the break:

U.S. intelligence officials who spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity say the jailbreaks last Sunday in Abu Ghraib and Taji present a counterterrorism and intelligence nightmare. “We just lost track of everyone we didn’t kill who was in al Qaeda during the surge,” one U.S. intelligence analyst said.

Analysts have speculated that, in addition to exacting retribution against domestic opponents, many of the escaped jihadists would travel to Syria to join the increasingly Islamist-dominated opposition in seeking to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad regime.

[Photo: AlJazeeraEnglish / YouTube]