IS claims deadly twin bombings in Iraq's Baghdad

The Islamic State (IS) militant group on Thursday claimed responsibility for two deadly bomb attacks in Baghdad that killed 15 people and wounded 47 others, the group said in an online statement.

The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified.

Earlier in the day, an Iraqi interior ministry source said a total of 15 people were killed and 47 others wounded in attacks by a suicide bomber and a roadside bomb in downtown Baghdad.

According to the source, 10 people, including three policemen, were killed and 30 others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest during rush hours near a police vehicle at a busy outdoor market near Taiyran Square in downtown Baghdad, the source said.

Separately, a roadside bomb went off in the nearby Wathbah Square, leaving two policemen and three civilian killed and 17 people wounded, 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