A spate of deadly bombings killed at least 47 people and injured 179 in Baghdad on Thursday in defiance of massive military operations launched by U.S. and Iraqi forces in the capital since the beginning of August.

On Thursday evening, a series of apparently coordinated bombings rocked four districts in eastern Baghdad, leaving 43 people killed and 160 others wounded, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

A car bomb ripped through a popular market in al-Ameen district in eastern Baghdad shortly after 7:00 p.m. (1500 GMT), the anonymous source said, adding several shops and cars were also damaged.

Within minutes, another car bomb hit al-Baladeat district and two mortar rounds shelled buildings in al-Qahera district, while a roadside bomb detonated in another neighborhood, the source said.

Earlier, a suicide car bombing targeted a line of cars awaiting at a gas station in eastern Baghdad, killing four people and injuring 11.

Due to a severe fuel shortage, drivers in Baghdad have to wait for several hours to gas up their cars. Lines of cars stretch for several kilometers, which are prone to be targeted by insurgents.

Meanwhile, a bomb exploded near a restaurant on Palestine Street in the capital, wounding eight people.

Thursday's deadly attacks came one day after a wave of violence across Iraq killed at least 38 people and wounded dozens.

Despite the rampant violence, senior Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and U.S. generals claimed that major military operations in the capital are making progress and violence is decreasing.

Since the beginning of August, U.S.-Iraqi forces have taken many security measures in Baghdad, including sending reinforcements, cordoning off some of the capital's most volatile neighborhoods, conducting house-by-house searches and seizing illegal weapons.

In a new bid to gain local residents' trust, U.S. soldiers even patrol on foot in some districts of the capital.

On the ground, the operations lowered violence for a short period of time and temporarily improved the security situation in Baghdad. But attacks have been escalating again in the past week.

Local analysts say that military operations can only curb violence for a period of time but would never eradicate it, and the Iraqi government should seek to reconcile rival religious sects, otherwise military gains will be lost.

Source: Xinhua