String of Baghdad bombings kills 21: police

Baghdad, Jul 13: A string of bomb explosions, including two suicide attacks, killed at least 21 people and wounded 62 in Shiite-dominated neighbourhoods of Baghdad, Iraqi police and medical sources said.

The northeastern area of Al-Shaab was rocked by two explosions yesterday, at least one of which was caused by an attacker who detonated his suicide vest, a police colonel and an interior ministry official said. At least three of the 11 people killed in those blasts were members of the security forces, police said.

The double explosion, which occurred near a market, left at least 23 people wounded. A suicide attacker also blew up his car bomb on Adan square, in northwestern Baghdad, just before the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

At least six people were killed and 20 wounded in the attack on the square, which was already targeted in February and has been frequently hit over the years. In Al Bunuk area, a car bomb also went off near a popular restaurant, killing at least two people and leaving 11 wounded, the same sources said.

Two other people were killed and eight wounded when another explosives-laden vehicle blew up in the Iskan neighbourhood. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for any of the explosions, but most such attacks are carried out by the Islamic State jihadist group. There had been fears that IS would intensify attacks in Baghdad during Ramadan, but with the fasting month nearing its end, there had been no surge in bombings until yesterday.

AFP