Iraq swamped in deadly attacks by IS

The Islamic States (IS) militant group continues to plot deadly suicide bombing attacks in Iraq.

According to UN Assistance Mission, the country has been witnessing some of the worst violence in years, turning many cities and towns into veritable hell.

In the mission's latest estimate, 1,119 Iraqis were killed and 1,561 injured because of terrorism, violence and armed conflict across Iraq last month alone.

The momentum continues in May, and the last week saw high casualties caused by suicide attacks and car bombing, mostly in northern and western Iraq seized by the IS since June 2014, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Saturday, five policemen were killed and 14 injured in three suicide bombings by the IS in Iraq's western province of Anbar.

On Friday, three gunmen in a civilian car attacked a cafe in Iraq's northern town of Balad, killing 13 people and injuring 25.

The attacks followed a series of car bombing in Baghdad on Wednesday that killed at least 96 and wounded 171 people.

On Wednesday, an IS militant detonated his car bomb in the predominantly Shia district of Sadr city, leaving at least 64 killed and 87 wounded.

A massive blast occurred when a booby-trapped car went off at a popular outdoor market in the Shia bastion of Sadr city. Most of the victims were women and children.

Only hours later, another suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car at the crowded square of Adan at the entrance of the holy Shia district of Kadhmiyah in northern Baghdad, leaving 17 people dead and 43 wounded.

At the same time, another car bomb ripped through al-Jami'a district in western Baghdad, killing at least 12 people and wounding 31 others.

Following the explosions, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an immediate investigation.

He said the armed forces will intensify intelligence work to prevent the sleeper cells from moving within cities and carrying out bombings against citizens, vowing to bring the terrorist group to justice.

The UAE on Thursday condemned the "terrorist massacres".

It declared solidarity with Iraq against organised terrorist attacks which target its religious and cultural institutions, as well as its rich civilisation, WAM reported.

The Iraqi army is battling the IS in the country's western and northern regions, vowing to retake Mosul, the second largest city, by the end of this year.

In retaliation, IS militants waged a wave of bombing attacks across the country, in an attempt to spark sectarian conflicts.

However, the military operations were impeded by a political crisis as parties could not reach a compromise on a government reshuffle.

--IANS

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