Twin bombings kill at least 2 in Iraq's Baghdad

At least two people were killed and 21 others wounded on Thursday in attacks by a suicide bomber and a roadside bomb in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

Two civilians were killed and 12 others wounded in an explosion said to be carried out by a suicide bomber who blew up his explosive vest during rush hours in the busy Taiyran Square in downtown Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Separately, a roadside bomb went off in the nearby crowded Wathbah Square in downtown Baghdad, leaving nine people wounded, the source said.

The toll could rise as ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the victims to different hospitals and medical centers in the city, the source added.

Iraq has been witnessing some of the worst violence in years. Terrorism and violence have left at least 12,282 civilians dead and 23,126 others injured in 2014, making it the deadliest year since the flareup of sectarian violence in 2006-2007, according to a recent United Nations report.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) on the United States, which invaded Iraq in March 2003 under the pretext of seeking to destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the country. The war led to the ouster and eventual execution of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, but no WMD was found. Endit