Bombs attacks kill 13, injure 47 in Iraqi capital

Security officials in Iraq say at least thirteen civilians have been killed and dozens of others wounded as four separate bombs exploded in and around the capital, Baghdad.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Sunday that a car bomb attack in Baghdad’s central and busy Khilani Square killed at least five people and wounded 15 others. The car was parked near a mosque and a gathering of motorcycle vendors.

Meanwhile, at least four people lost their lives and 14 others sustained injuries when an explosives-laden car went off at an intersection in Baghdad’s southwestern district of Hayy al-A’amel, Iraq’s Arabic-language al-Forat news agency reported.

Separately, two people were killed and five others injured when an explosion rocked Baghdad’s southwestern neighborhood of Bayaa.

Earlier in the day, another car bomb went off in Mahmoudiya town, situated 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding 13 others.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombings, but such attacks are usually blamed on the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

The developments came a day after two civilians were killed and six others injured in a bomb attack in Baghdad’s eastern district of al-Mashtal.

Iraqis stand at the site of a car bomb explosion in Sadr City area of northern Baghdad, Iraq, on March 23, 2015. © AFP

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) says nearly 1,000 people were killed by violence last month, while over 2,170 others were injured.

According to the UN mission, the number of civilian fatalities stood at 729. Violence also claimed the lives of nearly 270 members of the Iraqi security forces in March.

A great portion of the fatalities was recorded in Baghdad, where more than 360 civilians were killed.

Northern and western parts of Iraq have been in chaos since ISIL started its campaign of terror in early June 2014. The terrorists are in control of Mosul and they have swept through parts of the country.

Since then, Iraq’s army has been joined by Kurdish forces, Shia and Sunni volunteers in operations to drive the ISIL terrorists out of the areas they have seized.