11 killed, 33 injured in Baghdad Suicide Bombings

At least 11 people were killed and 33 wounded in two suicide bomb attacks in Iraq’s capital Baghdad Saturday. A suicide bomber blew up an explosive vest in the crowded market of al-Arabi in downtown Baghdad, leaving at least five people dead and 13 injured, a police source told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.

Another attack occurred earlier in the day when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a popular restaurant in New Baghdad district in the southeastern part of the capital, killing six people and wounding 21, according to the source.

The toll could rise as ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the casualties to nearby hospitals and medical centres, the source added. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide attacks in the country.

The attacks came on the day that the Iraqi government decided to lift the night-time curfew imposed on the Iraqi capital for years and to disarm the Baghdad districts of Kadhmiyah, Adhamiyah, Mansour, Karrada and Saidiyah. The government’s decision to ease security measures was seen as a sign of security improvement in the Iraqi capital, after about six months of Abadi’s appointment as prime minister. (IANS)