Source: New York Times -- Read Full Story

As many as 20 mortar shells were fired at the heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, one of the fiercest and most sustained attacks on the area in the last year. The shelling sent thick plumes of dark gray smoke over central Baghdad and ignited a spectacular fire on the banks of the Tigris River, ushering in a day of violence that claimed the lives of at least 58 lraqis around the country and added to the sense that insurgent and sectarian violence have been on the rise in recent weeks.