At least 5 dead in Baghdad suicide blasts: Medics, security

At least five people were killed in twin suicide blasts near a Shiite mosque in southwest Baghdad on Monday, Iraqi security and medical sources said.

Doctors at the capital's Al-Yarmuk hospital gave a casualty toll of five dead and 14 wounded.

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up near Abu al-Fadhel al-Abbas mosque in the Al-Turath district, a police officer told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Eight people were killed in a suicide bombing at a market in eastern Baghdad on May 9, while two others died in a similar attack in late June, both also targeting Shiites.

 

Iraq in 2017 declared victory over Islamic State group jihadists after a gruelling months-long campaign to dismantle their self-declared "caliphate".

But sleeper cells of the Sunni extremist group have remained active, attacking civilians and security forces across the Shiite-majority country.