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Twin suicide bombings target Baghdad

Twin suicide bombings target Baghdad
Twin suicide bombings target Baghdad

Two suicide bombers, one of them driving an explosives-laden vehicle, have blown themselves up in northwestern Baghdad, killing at least 24 people, police said.

The attacks, which took place at around 1430 GMT on Saturday, targeted the mainly Shia districts of Kadhimiya and Hurriya in the north of the Iraqi capital. Police said at least 60 people were wounded, Al Jazeera reported.

The attack in Kadhimiya, which is on Adan Square, took place in one of the main access points for the Shia shrine there, which attracts many visitors on Saturdays.

“The first explosion was a suicide car bomb and then there was a bomber with a suicide vest,” a police colonel said.

Adan Square has been repeatedly hit by attacks. More than 20 people died in a suicide bombing there in February.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Baghdad and other large cities have seen near-daily attacks, with roadside bombs, suicide blasts and assassinations targeting Iraqi forces and government officials. Attacks have inflicted significant casualties among the civilian population.

The violence has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Iraq is going through its worst security crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops, as large parts of its northwestern regions are under the control of IS.

 

Financialtribune.com