Attacks kill 14 civilians in and around Baghdad

Attacks in and around Baghdad killed at least 14 civilians today, as Iraqi security forces repelled an attack by the Islamic State group on the country's largest oil refinery, officials said.
Seven people were killed when a car bomb exploded in a commercial area in the town of Mahmoudiyah, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, a police officer said.
The car was parked in a mainly Shiite section of town near a bakery and went off as people were standing in line to buy bread.
Another 13 civilians were wounded in the attack, he said.
Hours later, another car bomb exploded in a parking lot outside Baghdad's Yarmouk hospital, killing four civilians and wounding 10, the official said.

Three more civilians were killed and eight wounded when a bomb ripped through an outdoor market in Baghdad's northern Sabi al-Bor area, police added.

Three medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
The bombings came a day after attacks in and around Baghdad killed at least 15 civilians. The Islamic State group and other Sunni extremists carry out near-daily attacks targeting Iraq's security forces and Shiite majority.
Also today, the deputy governor of the northern Salahuddin province said IS militants used suicide armored car bombs to try to break into the Beiji refinery over the past two days.

Ammar Hikmat said security forces repelled the attacks and remain in control of the facility.
He said more than 20 militants were killed during the clashes and that several security forces were killed or wounded, without elaborating.
"We call upon the central government to send reinforcements immediately. The soldiers defending the refinery are exhausted and they are in need of any kind of help in order to withstand the attacks," he said.
Oil Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said yesterday that Iraqi forces, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes, repelled an IS attack over the weekend on Beiji.