SEPARATE BOMBINGS CLAIM 11 LIVES IN IRAQI CAPITAL

Baghdad, 14 Jumadil Akhir 1436/3 April 2015 (MINA) – Police and medical officials in Iraq say at least 11 people have been killed and over two dozen others injured in separate bomb explosions that struck areas in the capital, Baghdad.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said eight people, including two women, lost their lives and 18 others sustained injuries on Thursday evening, when a blast ripped through Baghdad’s central neighborhood of Bab al-Moatham.

Earlier in the day, a bomb explosion near a small restaurant in Baghdad’s northeastern district of Husseiniyah killed three people and wounded eight others, Press Tv quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the acts of violence. However, Iraqi officials usually blame such attacks on the Takfiri ISIL terrorists.

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 997 Iraqis lost their lives last month, while 2,172 others were injured.

The UN mission said the number of the civilians killed stood at 729, and the number of civilians injured was 1,785. Violence also claimed the lives of a further 268 members of the Iraqi security forces while 387 others sustained injuries.

A great portion of the fatalities was recorded in Baghdad, where 362 civilians were killed and 928 others were wounded. ISIL militancy and Iraqi army operations

The Takfiri ISIL terrorist group started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. The heavily-armed militants took control of the city of Mosul before sweeping through parts of the country’s Sunni Arab heartland.

Iraqi soldiers, police units, Kurdish forces, Shia volunteers and Sunni tribesmen have recently succeeded in driving the terrorists out of some areas in Iraq. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)