Separate bomb attacks leave 9 dead in Iraq

At least nine people have been killed and several others wounded during separate bomb attacks in and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, sources say.

Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a bomb went off near a public sheep market in the town of Madain, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Saturday morning, killing four people and wounding 11 others.

In another incident, three people were killed and 10 injured in a blast near car repair shops in central Baghdad, police sources said.

Meanwhile, a third explosion reportedly hit an army patrol in the mainly Sunni town of Taji, just north of the Iraqi capital, killing two soldiers and wounding four others.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings. However, Iraqi officials usually blame such attacks on the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

The ISIL Takfiri group launched an offensive in Iraq in June and took control of the country’s second largest city, Mosul, before sweeping through parts of the country’s Sunni Arab heartland.

The extremist group has threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians, during its advances in the violence-torn Arab state.

This is while a US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes on ISIL positions in Iraq over the past months. However, such raids have so far failed to dislodge the terrorists.

According to the UN, more than 1,100 people were killed and over 1,800 others wounded in terror attacks across Iraq last month, making December 2014 the deadliest month since 2008.