11 killed, 29 wounded in twin car bomb attacks at Baghdad mall

At least 11 people were killed and 29 others wounded in two car bombs at a busy mall in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source said on Saturday local time.

The attack occurred shortly before Friday midnight when a booby-trapped car detonated at the car park of al-Nakhil Mall in Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, while a suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden car at the busy street outside the mall building, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blasts set fire to several nearby cars at the parking lot and outside the mall and damaged many others, the source said.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the area and blocked the roads leading to the scene, while ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the killed and wounded people to the city hospitals, the source added.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for the suicide attacks, targeting areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

Iraq has witnessed worsening violence since the Islamic State (IS) group took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 691 Iraqis and wounded 1,016 others in August across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said on Thursday.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S. that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.

Source : XINHUA