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3rd LD: Twin bomb attacks kill 23, injure 59 in Iraq's Baghdad

Xinhua, February 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Up to 23 people were killed and 59 others wounded on Sunday in back-to-back explosions in the east of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

"The latest reports said that 23 people were killed and 59 injured in the twin bomb attacks in Mreidy Market in Sadr City district," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The attacks started in the afternoon when a booby-trapped motorcycle went off at the crowded popular marketplace in the predominantly Shiite district of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, the source said.

Minutes later, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest at the scene, the source added.

The powerful blasts destroyed several nearby shops and many stalls and set fire to several civilian cars, he said.

The attackers apparently followed the old tactic of first creating an initial explosion to attract security forces and people, and then setting off another blast to inflict heavier casualties.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the IS terrorist group took control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014.

Earlier, a UN report estimated more than 22,300 people were killed or injured in armed conflicts in Iraq in 2015. Endit