Northern Baghdad blast kills 1, wounds 3

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) A roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded three others in northern Baghdad, security sources said Sunday.

The bomb went off at al-Rashidiya district, said the sources, but no one claimed responsibility.

Violence surged across Iraq as Islamic State extremists captured several Iraqi cities in 2014, and continues even as the group is sustaining defeats during a current wide-scale campaign by Iraqi forces and tribal militias.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said early December that violence during November claimed the lives of 926 civilians and wounded 930 people. It said more than 58000 died in violence since June 2014 and until September 2016.

Observers believe ISIS have begun to target several areas across Iraq to divert security focus on Mosul, where the group fights to defend its last bastion in Iraq under the brunt of continuous advancements by Iraqi government and popular troops.