21 IRAQIS KILLED IN TWO CAR BOMB ATTACKS IN BAGHDAD

Baghdad, 27 Ramadan 1435/25 July 2014 (MINA) – At least 21 people have been killed in two car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad shortly after Iraqi lawmakers elected the country’s new president.

Iraqi police and hospital officials said on Thursday that the bombs exploded just seconds apart near a restaurant in the Karrada district, which is a busy area in the central part of Baghdad, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Firday.

The Iraqi officials further noted that around 33 people suffered injuries in the deadly attack.

The bombs reportedly went off shortly after the time when people had gathered to break the dawn-to-dusk fast observed during the holy month of Ramadan.

On Thursday, the Iraqi parliament named Fuad Masum as federal president after the veteran Kurdish politician managed to secure 211 of the 228 valid ballots cast in a secret vote.

Masum is a co-founding member of outgoing President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Masum’s election is seen as a major step in resolving the political impasse in Iraq and the formation of a new government in the country, which has been grappling with a fresh wave of Takfiri violence over the past weeks.

The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL terrorists took control of Mosul in a lightning advance on June 10, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital.

The Iraqi army, backed by tribal forces and volunteers, has been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants on different fronts and has so far been able to push back militants in several areas, including in Tikrit. (T/P012/E01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)