2 killed, 13 wounded in two bomb attacks in Baghdad

At least two people were killed and 13 others wounded on Thursday in two bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua.

A roadside bomb ripped through a marketplace in Shaab district in northeastern Baghdad, leaving two people killed and five wounded, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, eight people were wounded in another roadside bomb blast at a crowded park in al-Madain suburb in southeastern Baghdad, the source said.

The attack occurred at the park where dozens of families were gathering to relax and enjoy the holiday of the religious festival, or Eid al-Adha.

The four-day annual festival of Eid al-Adha is also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of the spiritual peak of the annual pilgrimage or Hajj in Arabic, when pilgrims on Sunday descend from the hill of Arafat to the nearby holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for most of the suicide attacks targeting areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

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

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