UPDATED: Civilian killed, 10 wounded in south, east Baghdad blasts

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) One civilian was killed and ten others were wounded Thursday when two booby-trapped vehicle exploded south and east of Baghdad.

Security officials said in press statements that the two cars exploded in al-Maalef area, south of the capital, and al-Nasr district in the east, leading to one death and seven injuries in the first and three injuries in the second.

Since 2014, violence surged Across Iraq, with the Islamic State militants taking over wide areas of the country to establish a self-styled “Isalmic Caliphate”.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq recently said that violence in Iraq during 2016 left more than 12000 dead and more than 14000 wounded. According to the organization, those dead included 6.492 civilians and 5.546 military personnel. Deaths and injuries occurred in Baghdad, Salahuddin, Nineveh, Kirkuk, Anbar and Diyala, UNAMI said, adding that they occurred during military operations against Islamic State as well as in shootings, bombings and suicide attacks targeting civilians and security forces across those regions.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the Thursday explosion, but Some observers believe Islamic State militants have tended to carry out violent attacks in Baghdad and other provinces to divert attention from Mosul, where they struggle to defend their last bastion in Iraq against advancing Iraqi government and popular forces.