26 PEOPLE KILLED AND MANY INJURED IN BAGHDAD BOMB ATTACKS
On Thursday, 12 people were killed and 28 others wounded when a car bomb exploded in the northern neighborhood of Adhamiyah, the Associated Press reported.
Minutes later, another bomb exploded near a market in the same neighborhood, killing seven and wounding 27, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
An explosion in a shopping street in Amiriyah in western Baghdad killed three people and injured 15 others. The explosion was followed by another blast in a commercial street in southwestern Baghdad. The blast killed four people and wounded 14 others.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but such acts of violence bear the hallmarks of al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in Iraq, which seek to destabilize the central government.
Iraq has been experiencing a surge in violence over the past year as the al-Qaeda-linked group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), regains momentum in the country.
The group is one of the major militant groups that incited violence in the western province of Anbar.
Violence erupted in Anbar in December 2013, when security forces cleared a camp that the government said was used by militants for launching terrorist attacks.
Some 2,100 people have been killed across the country in an upsurge of violence since the beginning of 2014.
A week ago, a double bombing has also rocked an Iraqi city north of Baghdad, leaving at least seven people killed, officials said.
The attack on Saturday morning took place when a roadside bomb exploded in a commercial street in the northern city of Tikrit.
Minutes later, a car bomb struck policemen who had arrived to inspect the first blast.
The officials said five policemen and two civilians were killed and 18 people were wounded in the bombings. A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Tikrit is 130 kilometres north of Baghdad.
The latest blast comes a day after a series deadly attacks across Iraq killed and injured dozens of people.
The deadliest attack on Friday occured in the village of Injanah, 55km north of Baquba, when an explosive-laden tanker was driven into the federal police headquarters, killing at least 15 people.
In Ramadi on Friday, 12 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque where a funeral was being held for an officer who died in a roadside bombing earlier this week, medical and security sources.
Violence has spiked in Iraq since last April, a surge unseen since 2008. The relentless attacks have become the government’s most serious challenge. (T/P04/E01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
