12 killed in Baghdad suicide bombings

At least 12 people were killed and 44 injured in two suicide bombings that hit the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.

At least five people were killed and 15 wounded when a suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest blew himself up at a busy area in Baiyaa district, Xinhua news agency quoted a police source as saying.

It was the second attack on Tuesday as another suicide bomber detonated himself in the morning at a busy commercial area in New Baghdad district, killing seven people and wounding 29 others, the source said.

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

A total of 691 Iraqis were killed and 1,016 wounded during August in terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts across the country, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq said earlier.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence and the emergence of extremist groups such as the IS on the US that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.

--IANS

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