Triple bomb blasts tear through Baghdad's Shia neighbourhoods

Triple bomb blasts tear through Baghdad's Shia neighbourhoods
Video: Three blasts killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 50 in predominantly Shia Muslim districts of Baghdad on Tuesday.
2 min read
27 September, 2016
A series of bomb blasts killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 50 others in Iraq's capital on Tuesday morning.

One of the explosions targeted a commercial street in the al-Jadida area of eastern Baghdad, officials said.

"A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up this morning near a popular market in the Baghdad Jadida district, east of the capital," a security source told The New Arab.

"At least nine people were killed and more than 30 others were wounded, but it is expected that the death toll may climb further due to some serious injuries."

Another suicide attack hit a commercial street of Bayaa in western Baghdad, killing six and wounding 22, Reuters reported.

A separate roadside bomb exploded near a gathering of cattle herders and merchants in al-Radhwaniya, also in western Baghdad, killing two people, it added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings.

However Islamic State group militants have been known to carry out suicide bombings targeting members of the country's Shia majority, whom it considers heretics.

The blasts came two days after a suicide bombing claimed by IS killed six people in western Baghdad.

Iraqi forces are preparing for a push on Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the Iraqi territory the extremist group seized in June 2014.

Since late last year, IS has suffered a string of territorial losses, most recently last month in Fallujah, where it was driven out by Iraqi forces after occupying the city for more than two years.

But in response to the losses IS has begun to carry out near-daily bombings in and around Baghdad, shifting tactics from capturing territory towards individual attacks to spread fear and chaos.