Bombings, shooting leave 9 dead, dozen wounded in, around Baghdad

Nine people were killed and a dozen others injured in a series of bomb explosions and a shooting attack Saturday at residential neighborhoods in and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two people lost their lives and seven others sustained injuries when an improvised explosive device went off close to a popular market in the southern Mahmoudiyah neighborhood of the capital, Baghdad, Arabic-language al-Baghdadia satellite television network reported.

Unidentified armed men also stormed a house in al-Munsiyah village, situated about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, killing all the seven people inside. There were three women among the victims.

Elsewhere in the capital’s southwestern neighborhood of Hayy al-A’amel, one civilian was killed and five others injured when a bomb blast ripped through a commercial district.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq says a total of 670 Iraqis were killed and 1,290 others injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in February.

According to the UN mission, the number of civilian fatalities stood at 410. Violence also claimed the lives of 260 members of the Iraqi security forces. A great portion of the fatalities was recorded in Baghdad, where 277 civilians were killed.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh Takfiri terrorists began their march through the Iraqi territory in June 2014.

Iraqi army soldiers and fighters from Popular Mobilization Units are seeking to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.