The Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times lead, while the Wall Street Journal tops its worldwide newsbox, with several car bombs and attacks in a Shiite neighborhood that added up to the deadliest attack in Baghdad since the American-led invasion in March 2003. USA Todayleads with word that many shoppers across the country will be faced with higher taxes this year, as local governments are increasing them to fund a variety of projects.

All the papers have slightly different numbers on how many people died as a result of the attacks. The WPsays at least 138; NYT:at least 144; LAT: at least 152; WSJ: at least 160; and USAT: 157. Hundreds more were also wounded. Everyone notes the No. 1 concern now relates to possible retaliatory attacks. These attacks could trigger another cycle of sectarian killings, such as the ones that took place after the bombing of a Shiite shrine in February. Despite a citywide curfew, mortars hit Sunni neighborhoods, including the area surrounding Baghdad's most important Sunni shrine, and killed 22 people, according to the WP. The attacks "appeared to push Iraq deeper into civil war," says the WSJ. Politicians and clerics urged Iraqis to show restraint and not respond with more violence.

Early-morning wire reports put the death toll from yesterday's bombing at more than 200. There are also reports of a car bomb exploding early Friday morning in northern Iraq, killing at least 22 people. 

Yesterday's violence began when gunmen targeted the health minister with mortar shells and gunfire. This left hundreds of people trapped inside the ministry and resulted in a clash between the guards and the gunmen, until Iraqi and U.S. forces arrived two hours later (none of the papers reveal whether this kind of delay is normal).

Then the bombings began in Sadr City as five or six car bombs exploded in succession, and mortar shells also began hitting the area. It looks like there was another car bomb set to explode, but residents grabbed the driver before he could set it off. The WSJ says U.S. troops stayed away from Sadr City yesterday, and left the area to Iraqi forces and Shiite militias. 

Yesterday, the U.S. military announced three marines were killed on Wednesday in Anbar Province.   

USAT fronts word that on Sunday the Iraq war will have lasted as long as the number of days the United States fought in World War II, 1,347. But, as the paper is quick to point out, there are few similarities between both wars.

One of these differences has to do with the proportion of women who served. Although, 16.1 million armed forces served in World War II, only 350,000 of them were women. On the other hand, in Iraq, out of 1.4 million troops, 155,221 women have served. According to a Page One story in the Post, 16,000 single mothers have served in Iraq, a figure military experts say is unprecedented. To illustrate the difficulties these single mothers and their children often have to face while at war, and when they come back, the WP tells the emotional story of one woman who had to send her children to live with their grandmother in Hawaii. When she came back from Iraq, she had problems getting them home because she had given up her apartment and had no money for the plane tickets.

The LAT fronts an analysis looking at the parallels between the wars in Iraq and Vietnam. The paper says U.S. commanders are trying to implement a strategy in Iraq that resembles the tactics used at the end of the Vietnam War. The goal of using advisers to train local troops and give them a higher burden of responsibility, while the American troops prepare for withdrawal, is reminiscent of a strategy that was known as "Vietnamization."

The LAT fronts the funeral of the Lebanese assassinated cabinet minister, Pierre Gemayel, which turned into a political rally. The WP publishes a large front-page picture of the funeral, and the NYT reefers the event. Hundreds of thousands of people filled Beirut's streets yesterday to show their support for Gemayel and their repudiation of the Syrian government, whom they believe is responsible for the murder. Meanwhile, in the Shiite areas, shops ignored the three-day mourning period and remained open yesterday, according to the WP. After the funeral, conflicts engulfed the city once again as Shiite groups threw rocks at the windows of a Sunni mosque. By nightfall, a group of Shiites went out into the streets and proceeded to stop traffic and set fires.