3 killed, 14 wounded in blast in Baghdad

Three people were killed and 14 others injured on Friday in an explosion of a rocket cache in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua.

"Our latest report said three people were killed and 14 others wounded by the major blast and the subsequent blasts of the rockets and mortar rounds which struck the surrounding neighborhoods," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The blast occurred in the morning after a fire broke out at a cache of rockets and mortar rounds in al-Obeidi neighborhood, a stronghold of Shiite militant groups in eastern Baghdad, the source said.

The fire also sent dozens of rockets and other ordnance randomly to nearby neighborhoods and industrial districts, causing damage to many houses, shops and civilian cars, the source said.

These weapons are used by Shiite militias in the battles against the extremist Islamic State (IS) militant group, the source added.

Iraq has witnessed worsening violence since the IS 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