11 killed, 29 hurt in Baghdad bomb attacks

At least 11 people were killed and 29 others wounded in two car bombs at a busy mall in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source said on Saturday.

The attack occurred shortly before Friday midnight when a booby-trapped car detonated at the car park of al-Nakhil Mall in Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, while a suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden car at the busy street outside the mall building, the source told Xinhua.

The blasts set fire to several nearby cars at the parking lot and outside the mall and damaged many others, the source said.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the area and blocked the roads leading to the scene, while ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the killed and wounded people to the city hospitals, the source added.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, in most cases, is responsible for the suicide attacks, targeting areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

--IANS

sku/