Iraq bombers target crowds and council HQ

Bombs explode near crowded commercial area and council headquarters as gunmen attack police checkpoint.

A funeral held on Monday in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, which is again the scene of a suicide attack. [AFP]

Multiple attacks in Iraq, including a bombing in a crowded commercial area of Baghdad, have killed at least 22 people, and wounded dozens, officials say.

A bomb-laden car exploded late on Tuesday in the capital’s district of Karrada, killing at least 15 people and wounding 36, the Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber struck near the Anbar provincial council headquarters in Ramadi, killing three soldiers and wounding another four.

Anti-government fighters have occupied areas of Ramadi since early January and also control the city of Fallujah to its east, in what has become a major security challenge for the government.

Gunmen also attacked a police checkpoint in a village west of Baiji, a town north of Baghdad, killing four police and wounding three.

The attacks came a day after violence killed 35 people.

Iraq has been hit by a year-long surge in violence that has reached levels not seen since 2008, driven by widespread discontent among the Sunni Arab minority and the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

More than 650 people have been killed in attacks and clashes since the start of this month, and more than 1,600 since January 1, according to the news agency, Agence France-Presse.

 

 

Source: News Agencies