Four killed, 10 wounded in a Shiite-majority district blast, eastern Baghdad
An explosion in Baghdad.
“The blast in al-Sabiyat region in al-Sho’la district left 14 persons killed and injured, a security source said, adding that “four persons were killed, while 10 others were injured.”
An Iraqi police officer previously said that a parked booby-trapped car exploded in al-Sho’la region with the high Shiite majority.
Despite not being followed by a claim of responsibility, Islamic State militants said they had been behind some bloody explosions and attacks that hit the capital.
Violence and armed conflicts claimed the lives of 317 Iraqis, and caused injuries to 403 others during the month of April, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).
The total figure of victims signalled a drop from 1115 victims in March.
Nineveh, where U.S.-backed Iraqi government troops are caught up in battles against Islamic State militants in Mosul since October, came on top of the most affected governorate, with 276 casualties (153 killed, 123 injured). Baghdad Governorate came next with 55 killed and 179 injured. Salahuddin came third, with 15 killed and 43 injured.
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.