Civilian killed, eight others wounded in southeastern Baghdad blast
Representational photo.
“An IED exploded on Wednesday evening near the industrial district in Besmaya village, located on Baghdad-Wassit road, which left a person killed and eight others wounded,” a police source told Baghdad Today.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “security troops transferred the injured to nearby hospital, while the victim was taken to forensic medicine department.”
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 297 Iraqis, were killed and injured due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of ِAugust. Baghdad was the most affected province with 45 deaths and 135 injuries.
Baghdad has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016. While most of of the explosions and attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.
Despite the group’s defeat in its main havens across Iraqi provinces, observers believe the group may still constitute a security threat.