Bombings, shelling kill 19 in Baghdad districts

Two bombings and shelling in Shiite-majority areas of north Baghdad killed at least 19 people on Thursday, security and medical officials said.
In the Shiite shrine district of Kadhimiyah, a suicide bombing and shelling killed at least 14 people, while a car bomb in Tobchi killed five more, the officials said.
The attacks wounded more than 40 people.
There was no immediate claim for the attacks, but Sunni extremists, including those from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, frequently target members of Iraq's Shiite majority, whom they consider heretics.
IS-led militants launched a major offensive in June, overrunning large areas north and west of Baghdad and sweeping security forces aside.
Iraqi federal forces, Kurdish fighters, Shiite militiamen and Sunni tribesmen are fighting to regain ground from the militants, backed by US air strikes.
Source: AFP