BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two mentally disabled women were strapped with explosives Friday and sent into busy Baghdad markets, where they were blown up by remote control, a top Iraqi government official said. Iraqi soldiers secure the scene of a bombing Friday at a popular pet market in central Baghdad. The bombs killed at least 98 people and wounded more than 200 at two popular pet markets on the holiest day of the week for Muslims, authorities said. In both bombings, the attackers were mentally disabled women whose explosive belts were remotely detonated, Gen. Qasim Atta, spokesman for Baghdad's security plan, told state television.
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NEW: Women's vests loaded with dynamite, ball bearings, Iraqi official says
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NEW: Iraq says 98 people killed at Baghdad markets, while U.S. says 27 dead
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NEW: Iraq: Bombs detonated by cell phone; U.S.: Women detonated bombs
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Iraqi official say female bombers had mental disabilities
The violence marked the bloodiest series of attacks in @placeholder since August, breaking a brief stretch of relative calm as attacks and deaths dropped after the 2007 increase in U.S. troop strength called the surge.