Iraq vows to "crush terrorists" after 99 killed

Iraq's prime minister vowed on Saturday to ensure improved security is not derailed after two female bombers killed 99 people in the deadliest attacks in Baghdad since last April.

Nuri al-Maliki said Friday's bombings at popular pet markets in the capital would not herald a return to the savage violence that took Iraq to the brink of all-out sectarian civil war. The U.S. military blamed al Qaeda for the attacks.

"I swear on the blood (of the victims), we will achieve all our goals in securing a stable Iraq," he said in a statement. "We will continue to ... crush the terrorists and target their strongholds."

In the bloodiest attack, police said a female bomber killed 62 and wounded 88 at the Ghazil pet market in central Baghdad, one of the most popular meeting places in the city and a previous target for attacks.

That came just minutes after another blast killed 37 and wounded 57 at a bird market in southern Baghdad, police said.

Iraq's military has said the two women were mentally handicapped and the bombs were detonated by remote control.

"The terrorists used handicapped women in this crime. This shows the moral degradation of these criminal gangs and how much they hate mankind," Maliki said.

U.S. military officials said they had seen no evidence to suggest the women were handicapped, but one spokesman said on Saturday: "We don't have any reason to doubt that either".

Al Qaeda in Iraq, blamed by the U.S. military for the blasts and most other large-scale bombings, has increasingly used women wearing suicide vests to carry out strikes after increased security and protective walls made car bombings more difficult.

Friday's death toll was the worst in Baghdad since April 18, when multiple car bombings killed 191 people around the city.

The scale of the attack could damage growing confidence amongst Iraqis that their streets were becoming safer, leading them to venture out to markets and restaurants.

It also raises questions for the U.S. military, which has begun to reduce troop levels. Attacks have fallen by 60 percent across Iraq since last June, when 30,000 extra U.S. troops became fully deployed.

Troop levels will drop to around 135,000 by the middle of the year when more than 20,000 combat soldiers are withdrawn. There are currently around 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

U.S. commanders say they will have enough soldiers to maintain security. But they have repeatedly warned that al Qaeda remained a dangerous foe.

The fall in overall violence has also been attributed to local police units mainly made up of Sunni Arab tribes who turned against al Qaeda and a ceasefire by the feared Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.