Baghdad car bomb kills 11 on Saturday

A car bombing Saturday in a Shiite-majority area of north Baghdad where people gather to buy and sell vehicles killed 11 people and wounded at least 68, Iraqi officials said.

The blast hit the Sadr City, the same district where a massive truck bomb ripped through a wholesale vegetable market just two days before, killing at least 54 people.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's attack, but the jihadist Daesh group frequently targets Shiites, whom it considers to be heretics.

In an attempt to cause maximum casualties, IS often strikes areas such as markets and cafes where crowds gather.

Bombings such as the Sadr City blasts are a significant source of tension in Iraq, angering the country's Shiites who are often the targets.

Daesh overran large parts of Iraq in June 2014 and also holds significant territory in neighbouring Syria.

Iraqi forces have since regained ground from the jihadists, but much of western Iraq remains outside government control.

Even before the Daesh offensive, bombings targeting civilians in Iraq were a major threat, killing hundreds of people a month.

With jihadists occupied with fighting elsewhere, the frequency of blasts in Baghdad has declined since the Daesh offensive, but there have still been a number of major bombings in the city in recent months.
Source: AFP