Bomb attacks hit outskirts of Baghdad

Two morning bomb attacks on the outskirts of Baghdad have killed six people as violence escalates during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Iraqi authorities said.

Police and hospital officials said Sunday’s attacks included a blast in a market in the town of Taji that killed four and wounded 15.

Another bomb exploded outside the house of a local Sunni leader in the town of Basmaiya, killing two and wounding four.

The latest attacks came after at least 46 people were killed and 152 others wounded in a wave of evening car bombings in commercial areas of Baghdad on Saturday.

The blasts struck in the neighbourhoods of Jididayh, Karrada, Baiyaa, Shurta, Tobchi and Zafaraniyah, the majority of which are predominantly Shia Muslim, according to police.

They said the explosions were all caused by car bombs parked in commercial streets.

Spike in violence

Officers said the bombs went off after the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast when many people were out shopping or relaxing in coffee shops.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, coordinated bombings against Shia Muslims are a favoured tactic of al-Qaeda’s Iraq branch.

Bombings and other attacks have now killed more than 250 people since the start of Ramadan on July 10, according to an Associated Press count.

The Saturday bombings came a day after a suicide bomber killed 20 people inside a crowded Sunni Muslim mosque north of the capital.

Fighters have attacked both Sunni and Shia mosques in recent months, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict that killed tens of thousands of people in past years.

More than 2,700 people have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of 2013, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.