5 killed, 19 wounded in car bomb attack in Iraq's Baghdad

Up to five people were killed and 19 others injured in a car bomb explosion at a crowded commercial area in Karrada neighborhood in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua on Tuesday.

"Our latest reports said that five people were killed and more than 19 others wounded by the car bomb attack in Karrada," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The attack occurred before midnight on Monday when a booby-trapped car detonated near Abdul-Majid Hospital, a private hospital, at a busy thoroughfare in Karrada neighborhood in southern central Baghdad, the source said.

The blast destroyed several nearby shops, including a coffee shop, and many stalls, along with destroying several civilian cars, the source said.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the area and blocked the roads leading to the scene, while ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the killed and wounded people to the city hospitals, the source added.

Early in July, Karrada was the scene of massive bombing that killed and wounded hundreds of people and huge fires in several nearby commercial buildings.

Iraq has witnessed worsening violence since the Islamic State (IS) group took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 691 Iraqis and wounded 1,016 others in August across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said on Thursday.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the United State, who invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Endit