Roundup: At least 51 people killed in car bomb attacks, 70 executed by IS in Iraq

A total of 51 people were killed and 92 others wounded on Monday in a wave of car bomb attacks in southern and central Iraq, while the Islamic State (IS) militant group executed some 70 men from an anti-IS Sunni tribe in the province of Anbar, police sources and tribal leader said.

The deadliest attack occurred in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, when a booby-trapped car exploded at parking lot in a busy popular market in the town of Khalis in north of the provincial capital city of Baquba, leaving 37 people killed and some 54 others wounded, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the border in east of the country, has long been a volatile area since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated military operations against the militant groups.

Another deadly attack took place in southern province of Basra, when an explosive-laden car parking at Hallaqeen street in a popular market detonated in the town of Zubair in west of the oil-hub city of Basra, killing 11 people and wounding 30 others, the source told Xinhua.

The relatively calm province of Basra did not witnessed car bombs or major terrorist attacks during the past months of the year, and previously massive bombing were rare across the province.

In Baghdad, a third booby-trapped car ripped through the entrance of Husseiniyah district in northeastern the capital, killing three people and wounding eight others, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the car bomb attacks, but the IS militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such deadly attacks in the country.

Earlier in the day, Shiekh Na'im al-Gaoud, the leader of Albu Nimer Sunni tribe, said that IS extremist group kidnapped and executed some 70 men from his anti-IS Sunni tribe in Anbar province.

"The terrorist Daesh organization (IS group) kidnapped late on Sunday night some 70 Albu Nimer tribesmen from Tharthar area in north of provincial capital city of Ramadi, and shot them dead in the same area," Gaoud said in a statement distributed to Iraqi media.

All the executed were civilians whose fathers and brothers have joined the army, police and members of government-backed paramilitary Sahwa groups to fight the IS group in the town of Barwana, near Haditha, some 200 km northwest of Baghdad, Gaoud said.

Gaoud urged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, to rapidly liberate the province from the militant group in order to spare the lives of his tribesmen.

In November 2014, IS executed more than 400 Albu Nimer tribesmen. Dozens more were executed early this year across Anbar province.

The executions came as Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi paramilitary militias fought a months-long battle to retake key cities and towns in the largest province from IS, which seized most of Anbar and tried to advance towards Baghdad.

Iraq has been witnessing some of the worst violence in years. According to a recent UN report, terrorism and violence has 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. Endit